Two-year contract to be signed for supply of emergency power before end of the week– GS Jagdeo

The government continues to work to address the issues with power supply and is currently focused on ensuring that the present capacity for power generation is maximized, according to General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr Bharrat Jagdeo.

He reminded the media that Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is grappling with a range of issues, including aged infrastructure, and this has greatly contributed to the generation shortfalls.

During a news conference on Thursday (April 11, 2024) at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown, he said, “Hopefully by Saturday (April 13, 2024) they should be able to get some of the equipment [we bought] up and running to allow us to have the capacity. I am going based on what GPL is saying…I don’t want to disappoint people, but this is what we were told. And they are working at this in earnest. Simultaneously, a group of ministers – the Attorney General, the Minister of Finance, Minister Indar and others – are working on a proposal we have for the supply of emergency power. Hopefully, by the end of the week, we can conclude this contract and have this vessel arrive in the country, maybe two to three weeks later, and that will see a significant injection of power to the grid, in addition to what we have. We expect to have this contract for two years until the gas-to-energy project is completed.”

The PPP GS stressed that in addition to bringing the current power supply situation back to some normalcy in a matter of weeks, the contract for power supply will allow for there to be additional capacity to respond to any unforeseen occurrences.

Last week, the PPP General Secretary acknowledged the disruptive impact of the recurrent power outages and assured Guyanese that the government is determined to address the country’s electricity problems.

“The situation is bad. There is no sugarcoating this. We have a situation at GPL that we have explained 100 times before. But often, explanations don’t soothe people when the light goes off, because it disrupts their lifestyle, their normal activities…I understand the feeling there,” he had said.

However, VP Jadgeo assured that the government has a clear plan to address this challenge in both the long and short term.

Further, contrary to claims by the APNU+AFC Coalition’s former Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, that it added 60 megawatts (MW) of power to the Guyana Power and Light grid during its five-year tenure in office, Dr Jagdeo clarified that only 5.5MW was added to Cane Field, which unfortunately collapsed after just six months.

He further revealed that 5.4MW was added at Anna Regina, but only 1.8MW is currently functioning. Additionally, 3.3MW was added to the Bartica grid.

Dr. Jagdeo added that since assuming office, the government has purchased approximately 40 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

“Right now, we are looking to buy maybe another 40 to 80 megawatts of power. We are already in the process of doing this. We will have it for two years until the Gas to Energy project comes,” he said last week.

Recently, a US$83M contract was signed for the installation of solar farms in Regions Two, Five, and Six. This project will install 18MWp of Solar PV farms – 10MWp in Berbice and 8MWp in Essequibo, and another 15MWp is scheduled to be procured later this year.

In addition, the GS pointed to the rapidly expanding Solar Home Systems Project, which delivers solar photovoltaic units to households in Amerindian communities, empowering them with greater access to clean, reliable energy.

Next year, an additional 300 megawatts (MWp) are expected to be added to the national grid, once the much-anticipated Gas to Energy Project at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) comes onstream.

Dr. Jagdeo also pointed to the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project. The government had pledged to resuscitate the programme in its 2020 manifesto. Bids were opened last year for proposals under the BOOT model, which includes the construction of a hydro dam, transmission lines from Amaila to Linden, and sub-stations at the Amalia site. These proposals are currently being evaluated.

The project, which is the brainchild of the previous PPP/C government, is expected to deliver an estimated 165 megawatts of power.