Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson yesterday stated that a contract for power purchase from the Giftland Mall has been signed and in a matter of weeks the company will be able to begin supplying power to the electricity grid.
Following a sod-turning exercise on Monday at the CARICOM Secretariat, the minister made the revelation to members of the media.
For a number of years, Giftland Mall had offered power to alleviate the shortages which residents of the lower East Coast were experiencing.
Patterson said yesterday that the power purchase agreement has been signed though technical aspects are currently being worked out.
“The licence has been granted, so very shortly, Giftland will be doing likewise (providing power to the power grid)” he said. The minister added that it would be within a matter of days, the company will be supplying just about three to four megawatts into the power grid to augment what the Guyana Power and Light currently has.
On that note the minister added that the discussions with Banks DIH have been stalled as the company reported a mishap at their plant so the reserve power that they would have had to sell was significantly reduced.
“The amount of reserve power that they had available to sell was reduced, so they’re getting themselves back to normalcy and we will re-engage them when they indicate that they are ready to continue” Patterson said.
When asked if such agreements are open to other independent power producers, the minister said that it would depend on the area and the need. He noted that with Giftland it is fortuitous as there is no power producing centre on the east coast.
Giftland had complained for several years that its offer to supply excess power wasn’t being taken on board.
