Gas-To-Energy Project: US$422M in contracts signed to overhaul GPL’s DBIS infrastructure

…over 320 km of high voltage power lines to be installed

As the Government of Guyana continues its infrastructure development agenda, the country’s energy infrastructure will soon receive a significant facelift following an investment of US$442 million to upgrade the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) transmission system.
On Friday, the Government of Guyana, through GPL, signed several contracts to upgrade the local energy infrastructure.
With a total investment of US$422 million, the groundbreaking project will see the construction of 155-kilometres (km) of 230 double-circuit transmission lines, 167-km of 69 Kilovolts (kV) double-circuit transmission lines, the construction of five new substations, and the upgrading of the Kingston substation.
These projects were divided into three lots, two of which were awarded to Power China, in the sum of US$256.7 million, and Kalpatary Teams, to the sum of US$156.5 million.
Present at the contract signing ceremony was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Kesh Nandlall, who gave a detailed description on how the new projects will be executed within the DBIS.

“The 230 kV transmission line will interconnect the Goedverwagting substation that is now being constructed under the GtE (Gas to Energy) Project, to a new substation to be constructed in Williamsburg, East Berbice. The 69 kV line will include the replacement of the current 69 lines [on] the railway embankment and will interconnect [with the] new substation in East Berbice. The new substations will be located in LBI, Enmore, Trafalgar, Williamsburg [in] East Berbice. This will allow GPL to transmit power in a reliable way towards the eastern corridor of Guyana, which is intended to accommodate future growth with respect to that region.”
Also present at the event was Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, who stressed the important role the infrastructure investment will play in ensuring the Government’s GtE Project is a success.
“Now herein lies the problem: how much power has to be evacuated to the East Coast and the Berbice area, and how is that power going to move from the main control centre to the East Coast, East and West Coast Berbice; and right now, we do not have the transmission lines to accommodate the bulk power movement. To communities, to new development, to new housing systems, to new industrial parks, to new industrial zones; we don’t have that capacity to move bulk power. These contracts that we are signing today is to accommodate the movement of that power from the central location towards east coast, towards Region Five and Region Six.”
Moreover, recognising the importance of the project, he urged the contractors to ensure that their work is done on time.
“Nevertheless. I want to say to the contractors that the timeline is one year; this tender was a very competitive one. The timeline is about delivery; we will be holding you to it… I’m saying this publicly, that a lot of times we end up working with competitive bidders who are awarded and when they’re awarded the contract, the haste that is supposed to be in the project, you don’t see it on the ground.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, highlighted the People Progressive Party Civic Administration’s (PPP/C) commitment towards improving the country’s energy sector over the years.
The Prime Minister noted that as a direct result of strategic investment over the years, the country’s energy supply is significantly higher than its demand, which has improved the livelihoods of thousands of Guyanese by eliminating electricity woes.
“When we went to the electorate, we went to the manifesto in 2020. And we promised that once and for all, we will fix this whole electricity problem in Guyana, and in fixing the problem, we had to make decisions that are short term and decisions that are medium and long term. We were criticised for many of the decisions but you know what? Today in Guyana, we have adequate electricity, more than the demand, as you heard from the previous speakers, and those short-term measures resulted in us being where we are today.”
The Prime Minister added, “The medium to long-term measures are still to come. So when we talk about the power barges, those were short-term measures to ensure we have reliable electricity. The Gas-to-Energy Project you heard about, with the first 300 megawatts (MW) will come on stream. And then you have Gas-to-Energy 2, another 300 megawatts. Those are the medium to long-term measures, and then you have the Amaila Falls.”
The Government has said that the GtE Project will provide the fiscal space to cut the cost of power by 50 per cent. Replacing 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.