The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) yesterday apologized to customers in Bartica, Region Seven for the recent service interruptions as a result of three engines being down.
This latest generation problem will call into question the management of key infrastructure as a new power plant had been commissioned in Bartica in December 2019.
In a statement yesterday, GPL said that the Bartica Power Plant has four engines: two are required to meet the demand, while two serve as a standby unit.
“Unfortunately, we have only one operational engine in conjunction with the solar farm”, it said.
The unavailability of the three critical units has resulted in a reduced generation at the Bartica Power Plant, prompting the need for scheduled service interruption in the township.
It said that customers from Acatash North, Byderabo Front Road, 1st Avenue South, 1st to 9th Street and 1st to 3rd Avenue North were to experience an interruption in service from 15:00hrs – 23:00hrs yesterday.
Customers from Acatash South, Dog Point, 1 to 5 Mile Potaro and West Indian Housing Scheme were to be repowered from approximately 15:00hrs to 19:00hrs
Customers from Mongrippa Hill, Byderabo Back Road, Carribese Hill, Old Housing, Bamford Point 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, Avenue South, 4th to 7th Avenue North were to be repowered from approximately 19:00hrs – 23:00hrs.
“We want to assure you that our dedicated team is working tirelessly to expedite the required repairs and return to normalcy by Tuesday, August 6, 2024. Your understanding and patience are greatly appreciated”, GPL said.
On December 28, 2019, a US$3.4 million ($714 million) power plant, capable of generating 3.3 megawatts (MW) of electricity was commissioned at Bartica with officials expressing optimism that it would banish the town’s power woes as the generating capacity is above its peak requirements.
The project was undertaken by GPL in partnership with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and was commissioned by then President David Granger.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, then Minister of Public Infra-structure David Patterson said that the new power plant, when combined with mobile generating units, would see Bartica accessing approximately 5.5 MW [3.3 commissioned and 2.2 reserved] of electricity. An additional 2.5 MW of electricity generated from renewable energy sources was also to be fed into the electrical grid by the end of 2020, he said.
“I am glad to announce that plans are afoot to install a 1.5 MW photovoltaic solar farm with storage [in Bartica]. This project is currently in the procurement stage with international bids opening in January 2020. [Power supply will] further be increased by connecting the power supply to the 1 MW hydro plant to be built by the [Guyana Energy Agency] at the Ikuribisi falls,” the minister disclosed.
Patterson recalled that GPL and the ministry took a decision to overhaul the power supply in the region after the old power plant failed to function as expected. The old power plant, which was installed in the year 2000, had an electricity producing capacity of 4 MW of power but over the years, lost effectiveness and over time became “increasingly unreliable and could no longer do the job after 18 years,” Patterson added.
“Complaints of blackouts were frequent. Frustration was mounting among residents, night-time studies were difficult for schoolchildren, commerce and industry could not get the support they deserved and the old plant had become an environmental hazard. No serious institution or government would allow that to continue. So, with the blessings of this administration, GPL was allowed to go ahead and make the investment necessary to provide Bar-tica with stable and reliable electricity,” Patterson said.
Then Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford hailed the commissioning as a “significant development” not only for the town but for the region. During a brief address, he said that Bartica has been plagued with unreliable power supply since the mid-2000s and the region had considered restarting the operations of an old power plant in Bartica.
“We have been working on this for years, but sometimes it had been so frustrating that we thought that it would have never happen. This is a significant development. This power plant will definitely encourage investors to come to the region. The 1.5 MW that will be added to the grid would be more than enough to power Bartica and its development,” the chairman highlighted.
