With GPL’s generation below peak demand, a 7.8 mw unit going offline for repairs has deepened the power’s company’s woes amid rising public frustration over the unscheduled blackouts.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, at a press briefing held yesterday at GPL’s boardroom in Kingston reiterated that the state-owned company has procured a number of new engines and transformers which are slated for installation soon.
Indar assured that GPL will be able to satisfy the current demand for electricity when it commissions the 17 power generators that are expected to arrive in Guyana from Honduras. These generators, valued at US$27 million, will generate 28.9 megawatts of electricity. They are expected to arrive in Guyana by November 22 and be installed mid-December, he added.
These additional units will significantly boost the capacity of the power company to meet the current demand.
According to Indar, the power utility cannot meet the current peak demand of 172 megawatts as one of its sets with a generating capacity of 7.8 megawatts is currently offline to facilitate a major overhaul.
“This is an engine that is about 14 years old. If we don’t bring it down for this general maintenance it runs the risk of the engine breaking up. And right now, to find engines of that size in the market, you can’t procure it easily, it will take months, between nine to 16 to 18 months to get a new engine.”
He lamented that a few generators have exceeded their prescribed lifespan and periodically these generating sets will experience mechanical defects.
Indar told Stabroek News that the costs to repair or restore these generators are exorbitant.
“People think that it is easy to restore these generators. When they become defective it costs us millions of dollars; that one at Kingston is about $130 million.”
“Now, these engines don’t run all the time well, sometimes during the day you have problems. In Region Three we had to pull down a 5.5 megawatt, we had to take down a feeder because we have spinning reserve,” he explained.
“So, you don’t have the reserves, you have some engines that are working, soon anyone of them give a problem you have to take off it and a feeder between 3 megawatts to 7-8 megawatts, is thousands of customers, so that is why the country is faced with this, we are all faced with it. We all live in this country too, we all have houses, we get black out too, we feel it too,” he said.
As a result of the offline units, GPL’s current generation capacity is 167 megawatts of electricity, which has caused an increase in load shedding.
“Right now, the country over the last week, we have seen the peak demand of about 172 megawatts. So, we have 167 [megawatts], the country demands 172 [megawatts], peak demand. So, because of that shortfall, we see some blackouts. When the problem started, the peak demand was 184.5 megawatts, it was bigger, the shortfall was bigger, we see the peak now reducing.”
Amid mounting cries from citizens and the business community about the electricity supply issues, Indar said the impact is being felt by all.
“We have received numerous calls from members of the private sector and business community and honestly we understand, but we made it clear that they issues are beyond GPL’s control, 99 per cent of these issues we are experiencing are also attributed to vehicular collisions with utility poles”, he said.
“Persons who damaged GPL’s infrastructure will be charged and also pay for the damages done because many times people blame the company for blackouts but many times these errant drivers cause damages to these poles and it disrupts many communities all because of their recklessness”, he added.
Stabroek News back in October had reported on GPL’s announcement that industrial/large (Tariff D) customers will face a higher rate during peak periods.
The company had stated that the rate applicable will be $78.91 per kWh. Notably the off-peak rate is $57.39 per kWh.
Asked by this newspaper if this is still effect, Minister Indar answered in the affirmative.
GPL reminded that the Public Utilities Commission has approved the implementation of a Time of Use (TOU) Tariff for industrial and large customers.
The TOU tariff will be applied to recorded electricity consumption between the peak hours of 1 pm to 3 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm. The new rate is effective from October 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024.
The current rate will remain unchanged and applicable during off-peak hours.
It was also announced yesterday that the government intends to re-engage Giftland Mall to procure additional generation capacity since the company has its own power generating system. The meeting between the government and Giftland is expected to take place today.
Meanwhile, APNU at a press conference yesterday noted that once there is a well-funded and maintained electricity generation and supply system, power outages will be rare.
Economist and Youth Policy advisor, Elson Lowe in a press statement said that Guyana, a country with so many resources should not be experiencing multiple blackouts since its national budget would have nearly tripled over recent years.
He said that the government must procure at least 50 mw of additional electricity generation capacity to properly mitigate the near-term blackout risk.
When this was posed to Indar, he responded by saying that he doesn’t know where the opposition gets its ideas from.
The economist noted, “Sadly, this is but one element of this crisis, as this week we also saw a 46.5mw generation failure at the Garden of Eden Plant.”
“Currently, GPL’s own reports classifies 63 per cent of the generation capacity for the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected system as ‘unreliable.’ This practice must stop,” he asserted.
The APNU member contended that until the Gas-to-Energy project is completed, there should be a renewed focus on adding reliable capacity to the system, as was part of his party’s plan during its tenure in office from 2015-2020.
“Once that project comes on stream, we can rest easy that there will be reliable backup generation.”
“The government must also invest in building a reliable transmission and distribution network, without which electricity supply will continue to be unreliable despite improvements in generation capacity. As we don’t expect much progress on this front under the PPP, the next Coalition government will invest heavily in such infrastructure,” Lowe posited.
He added, “This brings us to the question of the perpetually problematic Amaila Falls Hydro project, which the government insists on promoting, even though investors view it with as much skepticism as the public. Concerns persist about the feasibility of this project given the low water levels in the Amaila River during the dry season, as reported by residents and miners in the area.”
“While we believe that hydro-electric power has a role to play in supplying Linden and small hinterland communities, all renewable energy sources, such as solar, should be explored as viable options. This will be our approach to energy policy”, he said.
“Guyanese, who pay hard earned dollars for electricity, are entitled to reliable service. Everyone, except for the PPP’s elite, understands this.
“The government must urgently shift its focus from the Amalia Falls hydro-dream to the reality that is the crippling blackouts we face today and will continue to face every day for the next few years. At the same time, options for long-term continued expansion of power generation, whether through natural gas, solar, hydro or wind power, should be evaluated”, he declared.
“GPL has long warned that there is a need for additional generation capacity this year, with its projected consumption for 2023-2027 having been published [so] why was the company not supported with this additional generation capacity?”, he questioned.
“A crisis was inevitable, but worse than that, predictable, even further, why does the government seem to believe that it should only procure just enough capacity to barely meet generation needs? “Lowe stressed.
He argued that “even after additional capacity comes online in mid-December, Guyana will still have generation capacity either below peak demand or barely at peak demand, depending on whom you ask.”
“This is a recipe for blackouts, the moment even the smallest issue affects some generators”, he warned.
