$28.7B approved to advance upgrades to electricity transmission system

– Canadian consultant on board for project; GtE for 2026 completion

A supplementary sum of $28.7 billion, to advance necessary upgrades and expansion to the electrical grid, was among the overall $57.4 billion that was approved by the National Assembly on Friday.
Meanwhile, it has also been revealed that the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project will have an overall completion date of next year.
On Friday, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government approached the National Assembly to have supplementary funds approved for a number of projects. One such project will go towards advancing the US$422.2 million in upgrades and expansion of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) transmission system.

PowerChina International Group Limited had been allocated Lots one and three of these projects, while Kalpataru Projects International Limited was awarded Lot two. According to Prime Minister (PM), (Ret’d) Brigadier Mark Phillips, the requested $28.7 billion will ensure these projects can be completed.
“The requested sum of $28.7 billion is to facilitate mobilisation advance payments and interim payments projected to December 2025, in accordance with the signed EPC (Engineering, procurement, and construction) contracts. This project will be done in three lots,” he said.
The projects will involve the construction of approximately 155 kilometres (km) of double-circuit, 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines, the upgrade of the Kingston substation, the installation of distribution feeders at Enmore and Victoria, and the construction of new substations at La Bonne Intention (LBI), Trafalgar, and Williamsburg.
PM Phillips noted that the works are expected to be completed within one year of the disbursement of the 15 per cent advance payment. He further stated that Canadian firm Method4 Engineering will provide consultancy services across all three project lots, at a total cost of US$7 million.
“The consultancy is all embedded in the amount here for the three lots. And it amounts to US$7 million. That is the total sum for the consultancy associated with all three lots… the name of the company that was allocated the consultancy contract is Method4. It’s a Canadian company.”
“GPL (Guyana Power and Light Inc) has an expansion plan. Every year, they prepare expansion plans for five years. So, everything here is linked into GPL’s overall expansion plan. What we’re doing is identifying work to be done, in keeping with the expansion plan.”

GtE Project
When it comes to the GtE Project, which will have to be integrated into the DBIS system, the PM, under questioning from the Opposition, revealed that this would be completed in the second quarter of 2026… thus between April and June. The PM also committed to providing the percentage completed at a later time.
The PPP/C Administration’s flagship GtE initiative is divided into five components: the pipeline from offshore production activities to Wales, the building of the power plant and Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) facilities, the transmission main to move power generated at the power plant, a new control centre at Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD) and upgrading the national power grid.
LNDCH4 was awarded the US$759 million contract in November 2022 to build the 300 Megawatts (MW) Combined Cycle Power Plant and an NGL facility at Wales, West Bank Demerara (WBD) – key components of the GtE Project.
Upon completion, the project is expected to substantially lower electricity generation costs, which have significant implications for the Guyanese economy, fostering more competitive production costs and stimulating broader economic growth.
The Government has said that the GtE Project will provide the fiscal space to cut the cost of power by 50 per cent and replace imported heavy fuel oil (HFO) with Guyana’s natural gas as the main source of electricity generation will significantly reduce emissions.
The country also experiences power instability, partly due to rising demand outpacing supply. GtE will boost generating capacity by more than 100 per cent, and is part of a larger strategy to reduce power outages.
ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has already finished constructing the gas pipeline, and the transmission lines and substations required for integration of the project are significantly advanced.