The recent spate of countrywide power outages is a concern for government and has seen Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo seeking answers from the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) and requesting Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson to submit a report on the matter.
“Yesterday [Thursday], the Prime Minister, who is performing the duties of President, requested of the Minister of Public Infrastructure, a report on the blackouts that were taking place. We did ask GPL to provide us with a report on what was happening in relation to these blackouts,” Minister of State Joseph Harmon told a post-Cabinet press conference.
GPL has said that the power outages are the result of faults along the 69kV transmission line linking the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) and emergency works on a generator in Essequibo.
Harmon informed that GPL provided government with reports on the DBIS and stated that there was also “a tripping” in the line between Kingston and Sophia.
“They had actually done some work on it. They had repaired it and they actually throw back on the power, then another trip took place in the vicinity of Stabroek News on Robb Street,” he related, from information given by GPL.
He said that the power company has given the assurance that it is making all efforts to continuously test the lines and correct faults.
“They have given the assurance that the blackouts were for a short period and there is [no] likelihood of blackouts again in that way,” Harmon said.
Bartica has an unrelated problem. GPL had announced that it would have commenced repairs on the No.10 generating set at the Bartica Power Station on Thursday. Those repairs were expected to last for 31 hours.
However, when Stabroek News spoke with residents it was explained that the town only suffered a 12-hour disruption. Residents said power returned shortly after 6 pm but they were uncertain if there would have been any other power outages. They said that no notice was given to them by the power company.
The power company explained the problem at Bartica to government also. Harmon related, “They addressed Bartica, where there were also power outages and that came as a result of three engines. Engine number one had a faulty radiator, which resulted in overheating.
Engine number two had a suspected cylinder cracked head or lining and the third had a sub piston [problem].That meant, that instead of having two working generators and one standby, [there was]one and when the one that was working broke down, you had a total shutdown.
“They have been able to fix that one and are looking at repairs to the second one, but these are aged generators, I am advised. Basically, they are looking at installing new generation equipment for Bartica and the same for Essequibo, where you have a similar problem.”
Acting Chief Executive Officer of GPL Renford Homer announced on Thursday that the company was procuring a 1.7-megawatt generating set for Bartica.
Harmon said that Machinery Corporation of Guyana (Macorp), which repairs GPL’s Bartica generators, had advised that Bartica and Essequibo, which has had its share of prolonged blackouts over the months, needed new plants.
The Minister of State said Patterson is expected to address the issue and measures government is taking to not just bring temporary relief but its overall plan for the future of the electricity sector.
