The long blackout experienced by Georgetown customers on Tuesday was caused by damaged line hardware on the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc network, the company said yesterday.
The power company yesterday explained that around 9.24 am, damaged line hardware on the GPL network at the junctions of Water and Cowan streets and Parade and Cowan streets resulted in a circuit trip that led to electrical interruptions for their Georgetown customers.
In a statement, the company said that while some customers were repowered within 20 minutes of the outage, those in sections of Kingston, Cummingsburg, Lacytown and Robbstown remained without electricity while restorative work was executed until about 3.46 pm.
However, around 4.07 pm, customers from these sections experienced a second interruption after 13.8 kilovolt distribution lines along Cowan burst. “Extensive restorative works were performed, which included stringing of distribution lines and reconnecting all associated line hardware in an effort to restore the supply of electricity,” the release added, while stating that after the works were completed, power was incrementally restored, with the last area being reconnected around 8.07 pm. Similarly, the statement added that in an isolated incident, customers from Unity to Bygeval, East Coast Demerara, experienced a blackout around 3 pm due to a fault along the 13.8 kilovolt distribution lines at Mahaica.
Remedial works were started and continued until Wednesday morning and were completed sometime around 10.15 am, after which power was subsequently restored. “GPL Inc. extends sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused,” the statement added.
