The Guyana Power and Light Inc. has come under major criticism following a recent spate of power outages, but at a press conference on Monday, GPL's Divisional Director of Engineering Services, Ryan Ross, said that about US$800 million is being spent to develop the electricity generation and distribution system.
"Whilst we're facing the problem now, we are investing heavily in capital expansion that will seek to address the issues," Ross told reporters.
Some of the company's investments, Ross detailed, include:
- The introduction of steel poles
- Building out transmission lines
- Constructing approximately 350 kilometres of additional distribution network
- Constructing new substations
- Establishing a smart grid
The main power grid, known as the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System, supplies a majority of the country's energy needs. Peak demand has climbed from 221 MW last year to 257 megawatts (MW) recorded on September 1. GPL's generating capacity currently stands at 265.6 MW.
GPL officials said the company has enough generating capacity to meet local power demand but highlighted that its transmission network is now under great strain — driven in part by the current El Niño weather conditions, which have pushed up air conditioning use across the country.
"The reality is that the distribution system is now facing challenges. That is, feeders are now being overloaded, transformers are being taxed and overloaded, and some people get voltage fluctuations," Head of the Executive Management Committee Kesh Nandlall told reporters.
Nandlall said there are ongoing investments in upgrading the grid but highlighted too that power demand continues to climb — outpacing the development of the upgrades and the introduction of the Wales Gas-to-Energy project.
While company officials say GPL can generate enough power to meet demand, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Bharat Harjohn noted there is currently a shortfall in reserve power. That, he explained, results in overloading.
Meanwhile, Nandlall urged consumers to conserve power as much as they can while the company expands and upgrades its system. He also said the company has not yet considered any compensation for customers affected by the outages.
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