With the usual increase in demand for electricity during the Christmas holidays, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. is assuring its customers that there is enough electricity being generated.
In fact, GPL says it has over 45 megawatts of power in reserve and it will require no backup generating sets this season. But that''s no sure guarantee that citizens will not experience power outages as setbacks to the transmissions line could cause a shutdown.
GPL''s management promises that all systems are in place to minimise these occurrences and wants the support of the public to help prevent shutdowns caused frequently by road accidents.
The assurance was bolstered by the Divisional Director of Operations, Bharat Harjohn who talked up the company''s generating capacity.
"We have enough generation capacity for the season across the country," he said, guaranteeing that maintenance to generating units and the transmission and distribution network was also on schedule.
All planned maintenance will be completed by December 15 and will continue in the new year but in the interim, the company said only emergency maintenance will be conducted.
"Each component of our generation and distribution operations is healthy for the holiday season," Harjohn told a press conference on Wednesday.
Harjohn said vegetation has been addressed and new components, such as feeders, have been installed and commissioned. Harjohn said the reserve power is located at the upgraded Garden of Eden plant along the East Bank of Demerara.
"Most of that power [at Garden of Eden] has to find itself back to Georgetown to our control center and then move up east. So, if our transmission lines fail when bringing that power for distribution, we will have a challenge," he explained.
He said the system can be unstable based on unforeseen circumstances.
Addressing the chances of power outages, Chief Executive Officer Bharat Dindyal said "transmission is the challenge" although enough power is being generated.
He said the only exposure is on the transmission side.
To address emergencies, GPL is paying close attention to its customer service operations and it now offers WhatsApp messaging on 699-4882 and a live chat feature on its website ()
Prepaid customers are advised to top up adequately and the wider population are asked to practice safe driving and not to overload circuits in homes and businesses.
Altogether the company is promising a lot more emergency personnel available and equipment made available "when" something happens.
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The generators which are expected to boost the Guyana Power and Light''s (GPL) generation capacity arrived in Guyana on Wednesday night according to a Facebook post by the power company.
He noted that works are moving apace for installation to be completed days before December 25 – Christmas Day.
"We are moving as quickly as we can and we are working around the clock to ensure that these generators are installed", Nandlall said, adding, "We are working towards getting most of these generators, installed before Christmas, if not all we will ensure that most of them are connected to the grid, in time for the holidays."
The generators are to be located at Plantation Columbia where the utility is currently engaged in preparatory works. The Columbia station is in the Mahaica/Mahaicony area and the generators will feed into the Demerara/Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).
Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, noted in a Facebook post that the vessel, MV Skystar, had moored at Muneshwer''s wharf in Kingston, Georgetown, where 76 containers with engines and ancillary equipment such as radiators, fuel and lube oil separators were being offloaded.
Indar was also present at the wharf and witnessed the offloading of the generators alongside senior managers of GPL and the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor.
Amid constant blackouts caused by increased electricity consumption, GPL procured 17 reconditioned containerised generators worth US$27 million from Honduras which will produce 28.9 Megawatts (MW) of power and are slated for installation before the festive season.
Both the government and GPL have been criticised over the load shedding that has become a feature over the last two months and the emergency recourse to the reconditioned carbon fuel sets.
At a press conference held in November, Indar was adamant that GPL would be able to satisfy the current electricity demand when it commissions the 17 power generators.
"These additional units will significantly boost the capacity of the power company to meet the current demand," the minister told the media.
He had stated that the power utility could not meet the current peak demand of 172 megawatts as one of its sets with a generating capacity of 7.8 megawatts was offline to facilitate a major overhaul.
"Right now, in the country over the last week, we have seen the peak demand of about 172 megawatts. So, we have 167 [megawatts], the country demands 172 [megawatts], peak demand. So, because of that shortfall, we see some blackouts. When the problem started, the peak demand was 184.5 megawatts, it was bigger, the shortfall was bigger, we see the peak now reducing," Indar had told reporters at the press conference.
While GPL is anticipating an average peak usage of around 236 megawatts by 2024, the minister also informed that the power company has already received unsolicited offers from individuals with capacity and proposals. According to him, those offers will be carefully evaluated to meet the growing demand in 2024.
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