After being without power for nearly two months, residents of Mabaruma are now breathing a sigh of relief as their electricity supply was finally restored on Thursday evening.
Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley told Stabroek News yesterday that the town’s power supply was finally restored on Thursday evening, after the activation of the temporary generator set provided to them by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
In addition to this, the Chairman said the Regional Democratic Council is expecting the new generator to arrive today. This generator was reportedly purchased several weeks ago as a replacement for the previous generator that had malfunctioned on May 15, leaving residents without electricity for nearly two months.
Stabroek News understands that, normally, residents in the sub-region are supplied daily with nine hours of electricity (5 am to 8 am, and 5 pm to 11pm).
Region One Regional Executive Officer Leslie Wilburg, in a recent Government Information Agency (GINA) report, was quoted as saying, “The options were either to purchase a new plant, or spend more to repair it.” He considered both options and then shared his recommendations by way of a letter with the Minister of Communities and Minister of Public Infrastructure.
The GINA report stated that the options were to repair the plant for some $8.4 million with a timeframe of four to five weeks, or to buy a new plant for some $16.7 million with one week’s framework for installation, or $14.4 million with the installation time of three to four weeks.
