Amaila Falls Project represents clean, renewable electricity with significant financial savings for Guyana – Finance Minister

…condemns misinformation campaign

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has vehemently condemned what he termed the misinformation campaign targeting the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project and other major development projects while noting that it is the same campaign that was carried out prior to 2015 resulting in them being stymied under the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) Government.

“I want to express in the strongest possible terms my grave disappointment and indeed our Government’s grave disappointment at the campaign of misinformation that is being waged in relation to major development projects and in particular, most recently, in relation to the Amaila Falls Hydropower project,” the Minister said, reminding that the project was subject to extremely detailed studies and analysis by international technical experts and it was examined by international development agencies and bilateral partners such as Norway. He added that it was also examined by international investors.
“In fact, if we were to cast our minds back to the pre-2015 period, we (the then PPP/C Government) had brought the project to a point where we had a major, large, credible international investor who was ready and willing to invest in this project. It would be recalled that the then APNU/AFC used their one-seat majority while in Opposition to derail and ultimately to frustrate the project. Had the then APNU/AFC not done so… not only would construction have commenced but construction by now would have been completed and Amaila would have been providing electricity to the national grid,” Dr Singh noted.
He noted that what was particularly significant was that the then Government, upon assuming office in 2015, commissioned a study to be done by an international consultancy entity, Norconsult, to complete a study on the project.
“Norconsult did an extensive study and concluded in very favourable terms that the Amaila Falls project was the best option for Guyana to transition to clean renewable energy. That report is publicly available, Minister Singh further emphasised while reminding that despite all that, the APNU/AFC Government did not proceed with the project, nor did they produce an alternative project. He posited that the PPP/C Government committed to resuming work on the project and completing it once it assumed office once more.
“Let me be crystal clear that the resumption of this campaign of misinformation has one objective in mind – the same objective as the misinformation campaign during the pre-2015 period and that is to frustrate development-to deny the people development as long as the PPP/C is in office,” Minister Singh concluded.
In examining the misinformation on the project, the Ministry of Finance has noted that since the Energy Conference held recently, there have been a series of articles on the Amaila Falls Hydropower project that are either fabrications, erroneous, or lacking in balance and objectivity.
The Finance Minister wishes to remind that the Amaila Falls project has been extensively studied and reviewed. Many of the current project risks were exposed to the public since 2012 and were properly reviewed by all partners (including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and due diligence was conducted by expert firms on behalf of the IDB. As recently as 2016, the project was reviewed at the request of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) by Norway via an independent firm – Norconsult. The current project, taken as a whole, based on independent reviews and analysis, manages risks prudently. The project also represents a clean, renewable means of electricity with significant financial savings for Guyana.
Responding to a media report, he reiterated that Amaila will have a 23 Km2 reservoir to hold water and this reservoir allows the hydro optimised delivery of energy on an annual basis.
In 2012, it was stated that parties considered the hydrology assumption that Amaila can deliver 1050 GWh energy on average per annum, a reasonable number (if not conservative). These numbers were relied on by the IDB in their due diligence in 2012.
By way of illustration, at 165 MW, without factoring hydrology risks, the project can generate as much as 1445 GWh, at full capacity. Assuming 1050 GWh/annum, assumes a capacity utilization of 72 per cent.
It is at this capacity, that the price of 7.7 cents/KWh is calculated over a 20-year period. In some years, there may be more than 1050 GWh generated; in others, it could be lower.
Under all scenarios, Amaila delivers a significant reduction in power generation costs and a minimum annual level of energy. Amaila, in essence, is a clean renewable project.