Members of the new board of the Guyana Power and Light Company Incor-porated (GPL) were yesterday appointed and while they were given a series of administrative issues to act upon, they were also charged to ensure proper consumer services are provided.
“The first initiative to be addressed is the provision of better services to the consumers,” Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson told the members present.
He explained that Chairman-designate of the Board Robert Badal was not present as he had experienced travel delays overseas.
The other members of the ten-member board are Denise Simmonds, Leslie Ramalho, Abiola Wong-Iniss, Morsha Johnson-Francis, Tara Singh and the Guyana Energy Agency Head Dr. Mahender Sharma. The other three persons will come from the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), the Private Sector and the parliamentary opposition. They will serve for two years.
However, Patterson bemoaned the fact that with five new boards already commissioned to date, the opposition is yet to name a representative.
He informed too that the board has been given “all the dossiers” pertaining to administrative issues and they include to review an investigation into allegations against the utility company’s acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Colin Welch pertaining to the importation of meters. “All the dossiers have been given to the respective members of the board to examine,” Patterson said.
The complaint against Welch alleged that he was in communication with the bidder and supplier of the meters, Tesco PLC, a British firm and Shenzhen Clou Electronics Company Limited of China, respectively, urging them to supply false information.
The Board will also now be responsible for appointing a substantive CEO and Deputy Chief Executive Officer along with other executive appointments.
Patterson also implored the board to analyse alternative energy options for the country. “You are tasked with ensuring there is a transition from our current 100% reliance on petroleum- based generation to allow access to alternative energies within the system,” he said.
He informed that currently government was negotiating with an independent energy provider that can supply at least 26 megawatts of energy from a wind farm, to be used in the Upper Demerara grid.
He said that while he could not give a specified time when the negotiations will be finalised, he anticipates no longer than eighteen months.
