The Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) new US$52 million, 46.5 MW generating facility at Garden of Eden (GoE), East Bank of Demerara, is now set to be completed by August, Prime Minister Mark Phillips disclosed during a recent visit to the power plant.
Inclement weather conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic have been identified as the factors behind the further delay in completion. The project which was started last year was due for completion in April but this was pushed back to June this year. With that deadline no longer feasible the project has now been delayed for an additional two months.
“We have to work with the contractor to ensure that what is delivered here to the people of Guyana is in keeping with the same high standard, quality and reputation that Wärtsilä has internationally… A lot of work has been done, but the work has been affected negatively by COVID-19 and the weather conditions,” Phillips was reported by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying during a visit on Monday to the site.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, who accompanied the Prime Minister, said that the new power generation facility is the biggest project in terms of a single location generating capacity.
However, he pointed out, “There are two parts of the project which will cause the extra delay, which are the transformers and the fuel tank, we have an alternative arrangement for fuel, because we have an existing facility here, but the plant itself will be testing during June and July… we want to make sure that when the project comes fully on stream there will be no issues, because it’s the biggest project in terms of single location generating capacity.” Back in November, the power company had received five generators from Finland. The five Wärtsilä generators can each generate 9.3 MW of power and were recently installed on site. The project cost is pegged at US$52 million.
In October last year, Phillips was given a tour of the GoE facility. Ryon Ross, Divisional Director of Engineering Services had explained then that the power plant will be a dual-fuel power generator. He stated that with the expectation of Guyana tapping into natural gas from offshore petroleum operations, the power plant is built to work with both heavy fuel oil and natural gas.
The old power generating plant had been costing GPL a large sum of money to maintain and Ross noted that with the generators being old, they are no longer efficient and finding spare parts at times can be difficult. The power plant was constructed in the 1970s and is equipped with engines that are over 26 years old.
Ross had said that GPL does not plan on abandoning the old power plant when the new one comes on stream as they will need all the electricity generated for the national grid.
The director also told the Prime Minister that while they are accustomed to seeing a high demand for power on the East Coast, Georgetown, and some sections of the East Bank of Demerara, they have noticed an increase in demand in areas such as Kuru Kururu and along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. He explained that this demand is not surprising since more people are constructing and occupying lands in those areas.
