Fallen transmission poles in Berbice caused electricity supply interruption

Falling transmission poles in Corentyne, Berbice have resulted in an interruption in the supply of electricity by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) throughout the course of Thursday.
The utility company confirmed that about 07:00h, two poles on the L22 transmission line fell as a result of inclement weather and high winds.
Consequently, there was a disruption in the power supply from Auchlyne to Moleson Creek, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
This lasted until 10:35h as a temporary re-configuration of the circuits restored power in these areas. However, emergency crews were deployed to the site where remedial works were conducted until 17:00h.
Upon completion of the works, the utility company informed that a brief service interruption of one hour was necessary to “restore the circuits to their normal configuration”.
Just a few days ago, GPL reassured that it remained committed to providing a reliable electricity supply during the holiday season.
The power company stated that every effort was being made to ensure the availability of its generating units. However, the inadequacies in the aged Transmission and Distribution (T&D) network continue to pose problems.
This has been exacerbated by persons accidentally coming into contact with the network.
“The most recent was December 23, when a privately-operated excavator came into contact with one of our primary distribution lines, resulting in the entire line going out of service and outages in the eastern Georgetown area for approximately an hour.
Therefore, we urge the public to exercise caution when operating machinery within close proximity to our infrastructure,” the company stated.
During pre-planned maintenance activities on the T&D network on December 16, it was indicated that patrols are continuing to monitor systems and ensure that issues that could cause potential widespread outages during the holidays are addressed.
In 2017, GPL recorded a total of 25 total system shutdowns.
For 2018, it has managed to reduce this to 12 so far, with one since September.