Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has commenced an internal investigation into the claims by residents of La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara that they reported a faulty transformer, which is being blamed for a fire in which five persons lost their homes on Sunday morning.
Parbatti Bhagia, 62, her son, her daughter-in-law and her two grandchildren had been the occupants of the two-storey house, which was destroyed. Afterward, Bhagia and neighbours said that they were sure that the fire had started as a result of one of the transformers, which they said has been malfunctioning.
According to the residents, the area has been affected by fluctuations in the electricity supply and sometimes the transformer would even emit smoke. They had said that even though they made several complaints to GPL, none of them had been addressed.