Frustrated with persistent blackouts
– say efforts by power company “grossly inadequate” for Region 2
By Indrawattie Natram
Frustrated by constant and prolonged power outages on the Essequibo Coast, several businessmen living in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) vented their anger on Thursday and lashed out at what they claimed were inefficient and grossly inadequate efforts on the part of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to restore electricity to affected areas on the Coast.
With the northern side of the Essequibo Coast hardest hit, the businessmen alluded specifically to residents in Charity who reportedly have suffered up to eight days of complete shutdown (no electricity) without any explanation given by the power company.
At a special meeting held in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Thursday morning with staff attached to GPL, several Essequibo businessmen and residents got the opportunity to vent their frustration at the treatment meted out to them by GPL. They questioned whether GPL would compensate them for their suffering and losses.
Essequibo Chambers of Commerce Chairman Deleep Singh, representing entrepreneurs, noted that a number of businesses suffered tremendous losses as a direct result of the blackouts. He requested for the “disconnection team” to avoid visiting the areas in and around Charity, since residents were already very frustrated and angry over the constant outages. Singh said the Charity area, which was hardest hit by the blackout woes, contribute 75 per cent to the Region’s economy – and residents are affected.
After listening to what the GPL officials had to say, Singh declared that residents were being treated with “gross disrespect” by the power company. He demanded that priority be given to the immediate repair of the Wärtsilä plant, which powers the Charity area.
The Chairman of the Essequibo Chambers alluded to the fact that many households were forced to dump food and other perishable items due to the power outages. Singh also called on Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson to speed up the process of acquiring new generator sets so an early commissioning can be done.
The main supplier of ice on the Essequibo Coast at Charity, Kumar Lallbacchan, also expressed dissatisfaction at the manner in GPL has dealt with the blackout situation. Lallbacchan said his ice factory has to be powered presently by a privately-owned generator, which is costing him a lot.
Another businessman, Sam Bacchus, also complained of being forced to run his generators to cut his losses.
Compensation for losses
Government Councillor Julian Cummings acknowledged that the blackouts affected several areas including water supply, Internet access, as well as banking services.
“When the current off, there is no telephone service, no Internet, no water supply…this is really hard on Charity residents,” Cummings told the GPL officials.
Chairman of the Charity/Ursara Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Beatrice Mittelholzer suggested that GPL rent generators so as to ensure residents of Charity get electricity.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer for GPL (Technical Services), Elwin Marshall said the company was “deeply concerned” over the plight of residents and apologised for the unreliable power supply. He explained that the generator sets have suffered major mechanical problems, which resulted in the power outages. He, however, assured that the company was moving in the direction to convert the South field to temporarily supply from Anna Regina to Charity. Marshall said that at present, GPL was trying to install a 60-cycle supply on the Essequibo Coast by splitting the South feeders. He, however, cautioned that during ‘load shedding’ periods, there may be some technical issues which residents would be informed about.
Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt noted that for far too long Essequibians have been quiet about the power outages and as such, urged persons to not be afraid to state their concerns at the meeting. Ramdatt also expressed frustration at the manner in which the company has dealt with the power outages, explaining that no public advisory was sent. The Regional Chairman said the power outages have also affected the Suddie Public Hospital, damaging many electrical equipment among other things. Also attending the meeting were GPL’s Manager at Anna Regina, Ben Field, and its Operations Director, Har John.
