In the aftermath of the thunderstorm that occurred on Tuesday night no households were affected although the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) reported numerous localised faults in several areas which resulted in a number of communities experiencing power outages during the night and on Wednesday.
Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig told Stabroek News on Wednesday that they have not received any reports of families being affected by the thunderstorm on Tuesday night although they had advised persons to contact them if they had been affected.
He surmised that the fact that no one contacted the CDC probably means that no one was affected.
However, following the thunderstorm, GPL on Wednesday issued a statement saying that throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday, they had been steadfastly performing remedial works to restore the supply of electricity to affected customers.
Late that night, the National Weather Watch Center (NWWC) reported that areas in Regions Three, Four, and Ten, would be affected by thunderstorms as radar and satellite imagery showed an area of moderate to heavy showers with embedded thundershowers associated with a large area of developing convective cells.
The NWCC had warned that thunderstorms such as those are usually strong to severe, producing gusty winds, dangerous lightning strikes, and heavy downpours.
Meanwhile, in the statement, GPL disclosed that at approximately 21:21 hours on Tuesday night, the L16 transmission line, which links the company’s Sophia and Good Hope substations, tripped and affected service to customers in sections of Georgetown, East Coast Demerara and West Coast Berbice.
According to the release, remedial work to restore electricity commenced immediately with most areas being repowered at approximately 21:46 that night.
Further, the statement continued, as a result of poles falling at Unity, there was also a power outage from Victoria to Bygeval. These communities were repowered at approximately 23:34 hours.
Vreed-en-Hoop to Vriesland, West Bank Demerara, also experienced a service interruption due to a feeder trip at the Vreed-en-Hoop substation. These communities were re-powered at approximately 22:53 hrs.
GPL apologized for the inconvenience caused.
