For all the Christmas lights, decorations and late-night activity Guyanese expect to see across the country in December, GPL says the holiday season itself is not normally its biggest electricity demand challenge.
The bigger problem is the heat.
Guyana Power and Light Chief Executive Officer Kesh Nandlall said the September and October period typically places greater pressure on the national grid because of the increased use of air-conditioning and other cooling equipment.
“Christmas usually be cooler,” Nandlall said during an appearance on the Starting Point podcast, explaining that the heat has a greater impact on electricity demand than the Christmas lights people put up during the holidays.
Peak demand has reached approximately 255 megawatts, compared with 221 megawatts last year.
Nandlall said Guyana's rapidly expanding economy is also changing the demand profile, with housing, manufacturing, hotels, businesses and other sectors adding to electricity consumption.
He said Guyana is seeing electricity demand growth of roughly 15–20%, far above the growth rates seen in many other countries.
GPL is still preparing for the holiday period.
Nandlall said the utility is rearranging its network to move electricity between feeders as demand changes and is seeking additional generation capacity to provide more support.
But he does not expect Christmas itself to produce the same level of pressure as the current hot period.
The reason is simple: air-conditioning can put a much greater sustained load on the grid than decorative lighting.
And that matters because GPL's challenge is not simply the amount of electricity Guyanese consume during a particular holiday.
It is the speed at which overall demand is growing.
Nandlall said GPL's peak demand has more than doubled since 2020, when it stood at about 125 megawatts.
Today, the system is reaching around 255 megawatts.
The utility is therefore preparing for Christmas while simultaneously trying to build enough capacity for an economy whose electricity needs are changing rapidly.
The Gas-to-Energy project is expected to eventually add up to 300 megawatts in its first phase, while major transmission, substation and distribution upgrades are being constructed to move that power around the country.
But until those investments are fully operational, GPL will continue having to manage the existing system carefully — particularly when the heat pushes electricity demand higher.
.png)
.jpg)
