The Giftland Mall is shortly to begin supplying the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) grid with five megawatts as part of the utility’s three-pronged programme to boost the supply of electricity to the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).
According to a Department of Public Information release on Tues-day, the Giftland system has a 6.7 megawatts output capacity. However, it only uses 1.6 megawatts during prime operations. The excess power will be secured by GPL through a Power Purchase Agreement.
The release stated that this is just one of several projects GPL has in train “to maximise the potential of power generation in both the short and long term.” Personnel are currently on the ground working on the connections, and GPL expects to see the project completed by month end. It is expected that this will aid in bringing relief from blackouts for thousands of its customers on the East Coast Demerara corridor.
Newly appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Strategic Operations at GPL, Samaroo Ramtahal explained that the Giftland purchase is one of three avenues the company is currently looking at. The second is the addition of another 30 megawatts of power for the DBIS to ensure a blackout-free Christmas. And the third is what he refers to as a “dual engine for Garden of Eden to 46.5 megawatts.” This, he stated, is a major project for GPL, which is expected to be implemented by April-June, 2021. “By that time, we should be able to be in a better position to manage our reliability of electricity in this country,” the Deputy CEO stated.
Ramtahal told DPI that since his appointment he has uncovered a number of inconsistencies in the company’s management during the previous administration.
“I’m there for just two weeks, but I’ve discovered [that] over the last four to five years, investments to generation was under five per cent, [which is] merely seven megawatts,” he disclosed.
“We are trapped with a very low generation reserve and when we have problems, we do not have what you call ‘spinning reserves’ or spare reserves to ensure that the grid is operating in the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System,” he explained.
The minimum standard generation reserve in the Caribbean is said to be 30 per cent. The purpose of the reserve is to allow for reliable connections and to ensure supply capacity is always above the demand. When the reserve is too low and power consumption in an area is above normal, this results in a blackout or power outage, the release added.
