The government's landmark gas-to-energy project remains on track for the commissioning of its first gas turbine in December, despite delays caused by changes to the project's design and the need for additional engineering works, according to Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar.
Speaking on the Starting Point podcast on Sunday, Indar said the revised construction schedule agreed with the contractor still targets December 2026 for the commissioning of the first 57-megawatt Siemens gas turbine at Wales.
The minister explained that while the project did not progress according to its original timeline, the delays were largely driven by design modifications, additional civil works and engineering adjustments that became necessary as construction advanced. Those issues resulted in a revised implementation schedule rather than a halt to the project.
Indar said based on the updated work programme, the December target remains achievable.
Once the first turbine is commissioned, the remaining three gas turbines are expected to come online approximately three months later, delivering a combined 228 megawatts of gas-fired generation. Two steam turbines are then expected to be commissioned a few months afterwards, increasing the plant's total generating capacity to 300 megawatts.
The minister said the project will transform Guyana's electricity sector by replacing imported heavy fuel oil with natural gas, significantly lowering the cost of power generation.
He noted that the government has simultaneously invested more than US$722 million in transmission lines, substations and other grid infrastructure to ensure the electricity produced at Wales can be delivered efficiently across the coast.
That investment includes a new 230-kilovolt transmission network, upgraded substations and a national control centre designed to strengthen the grid and improve system reliability.
Indar said consumers should experience a more stable electricity supply once the gas-to-energy project is operational, noting that the Siemens gas turbines can recover much more quickly from system disturbances than the reciprocating engines currently used by the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL).
He also acknowledged that temporary power outages will continue as GPL carries out substation upgrades and transfers customers onto the new network, stressing that the disruptions are necessary to prepare the national grid for the integration of power from the Wales plant.
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