The Bosai Bauxite Company operating in Linden will supply additional power to the mining town's electricity grid amid surging demand that has triggered load-shedding during peak periods.
This was announced by Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar on Monday. In a Facebook video, Indar explained that Bosai has been supplying 14 megawatts (MW) of power to Linden. The company will now supply another 3MW.
"...they agreed to put in the 3MW of power. They procured one engine. It will be available on Wednesday [with] 1.5MW. They have to confirm the other one for 1.5MW," Indar said.
Linden's demand for electricity peaked at 15.1 MW recently — 1.1 MW over what Bosai was supplying. Bosai produces electricity for the local grid, which is supplied to the Linden Electricity Company Inc. (LECI) and the Linden Utility Services Co-op Society (LUSCSL) for sale to the town's residents.
Because of the surging demand, sawmills in Region 10 were asked to operate outside peak electricity hours. Indar said the government previously met with the sawmillers and asked them to operate mainly between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., when overall demand on the grid is lower.
Meanwhile, Indar said additional power is still being sought for the town and wider Region 10. Additional engines, it is believed, can be sourced from a manganese company in Region One. A 15 MW solar farm in Linden should come on stream later this year.
Beyond Region 10, Indar spoke of other interventions.
He said Region Four is receiving 70 MW from the powership, which stabilises the grid, and an extra 5MW is expected to be added by August 30.
In Region Two, the procurement process for an additional 8 MW of generation capacity is in its final stage. This intervention is intended to further strengthen generation availability and reliability in the region. Another 2MW will be added to Anna Regina from the mining company GMI.
In Region Three, works for laying additional cable are scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The cable will run along the Demerara River bed, from the Princess Street substation to the Vreed-en-Hoop substation, to transmit 7MW of power. Works will also begin on planting poles for GPL's F5 Feeder, which distributes power from the Garden of Eden Substation to Timehri and along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
In Region Six, a 2.2 MW engine was installed to maintain voltage stability, increasing generation capacity in Berbice.
Meanwhile, interventions have also been rolled out to conserve power. These include switching off lights and air-conditioning units in government buildings, and powering off lights on sports grounds.
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