EBD prolonged power outages caused by private excavation works – GPL
The Guyana Power and Light on Monday said that following a prolonged period of power outages affecting customers from Nandy Park to Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD), the company’s technical team conducted a comprehensive inspection of its network and discovered a dislodged Guy-wire on one of the company’s primary poles carrying the 13.8 kV (13,800 volts) network.
Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips (centre), Minister within the Public Works Ministry Deodat Indar along with members of GPL’s Board of Directors
According to GPL, the Guy-wire, which was used to provide support to the primary pole and network, was dislodged during excavation works by a landowner in the Re-migrant Scheme at Providence, EBD.
The dislodgment of the Guy-wire disrupted the angle of the pole, resulting in the sagging of the 13.8 kV conductor.
As a result, the power company noted that the conductor came into contact with the earth wire on the low voltage network, causing the disruption in the power supply which customers first experienced in the early afternoon hours of Sunday.
Remedial work commenced immediately to restore service to the affected areas.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips held an urgent meeting with GPL on Monday to address blackout complaints from residents in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Four.
The Prime Minister told DPI the blackouts are due to a poorly maintained electricity grid which the power company is rectifying. “We have inherited a transmission and distribution system that, frankly speaking, should have gone through continuous maintenance over the last five years. My understanding is that the maintenance schedule over the last five years has not been consistent. So, we are at a stage now where we are doing a lot of corrective maintenance work,” he said.
Prime Minister Phillips said much more emphasis will be placed on strengthening GPL’s communication with residents on the planned maintenance works so that households can properly prepare for the inconveniences that may arise.
Additionally, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, who was also at the meeting, said GPL will prioritise additional works as it seeks to fix the transmission issues.
“There’re areas which we are looking into, which is inspection, putting more focus on inspection and preventative maintenance,” he said.
Additionally, Chief Executive Officer of GPL, Bharat Dindyal said the power outages are expected to lessen over the coming weeks.
“We have inherited a transmission and distribution system that, frankly speaking, should have gone through continuous maintenance over the last five years. My understanding is that the maintenance schedule over the last five years has not been consistent. So, we are at a stage now where we are doing a lot of corrective maintenance work,” he said.
