Govt to overhaul power grid as demand projected to double by 2029

…GPL’s network under severe strain with razor-thin margin between supply, demand

Government on Monday committed to undertaking sweeping investments to the Guyana Power and Light Company to ensure that especially generation, transmission, and distribution systems meets the continuously evolving needs of the current and changing landscape of the country.
With a preliminary assessment of the energy needs stating that consumption amounts will be doubled by 2029 and recommendations for upgrade and overhaul of some systems here, the President also announced that already a commitment from the Qatari government was made. The proposal he said, is to fund some of the projects that would avoid the risks of being locked into a cycle of unreliable service and costly disruptions.
“You have some people that ask, ‘where’s the money going? ‘Where’s the revenue going? Here is a case of where it must go, if we’re to remove the unregulated grid. And it can’t be that we continue with this system because investors require better from us. Our citizens require better from us,” the president stated.
“There is no shying away from this challenge. It’s a real challenge, but the real solution lies in major investment that must be made in a comprehensive way,” he added.
He assured citizens that his government was not just brining lip service to remedying the unreliable power supply system. “What we can assure the Guyanese people is that we are taking decisive action to make the system stronger and more reliable. It’s the largest investment in Guyana’s electricity infrastructure; in its history, but it’s also the largest economic expansion in Guyana’s history and this region’s history.
“The system just cannot respond to this demand, and we have to make huge investment. And this is one of the things Qatar also is ready to help on; the huge investment that will build a system that is predictable, reliable, and ready to serve the future of this country,” Ali said.
Pointing the surging demand for power throughout the country, the President attributed this to the rapid expansion of new housing schemes, the growth of small and medium enterprises, and the rise of industrial activity tied to the oil economy.

Solution to pressing challenges
A report compiled by the InterEnergy consultancy which was contracted by government to manage power distribution and stabilize the national electricity grid, this country’s energy demand will continue to skyrocket in the coming years, driven by urbanisation, manufacturing, and the increasing use of air conditioning and cooling systems in homes and businesses.
“InterEnergy has proposed an additional solution to address some of the most pressing challenges facing Guyana’s electricity sector [and that is] establishing an Independent Grid Reliability Task Force. We’ve seen in many countries across the region that experienced economic boom, that this was a key area for utility; establishing an independent grid reliability task force, smart metering and digitization, additional generating capacity, investment in transmission and distribution, and the report also highlights that whilst we focus on transmission, we must simultaneously make the investment in distribution,” he related.
At the start of this month, according to GPL, it recorded a peak demand of 257 megawatts (MW). The company’s installed capacity stands at 265.6MW, leaving a razor-thin margin between supply and demand, which observers say is being eroded daily as more households and businesses connect to the grid.
While GPL insists that it has sufficient generation capacity to meet current demand, the company acknowledges that its transmission and distribution network is under severe strain.
“Because the housing schemes are getting larger. And importantly, the structure of the schemes are changing, you have more apartment buildings, more industries, commercial areas in the housing schemes…so it’s not just a single line for residential apartments. There are so many things happening at the same time, that the report has made it clear that whilst we have invested a lot, the structure of the investment needs to be different,” the President said.
Further, he added, “It has to be this massive, holistic investment in infrastructure that must take place, whilst at the same time keeping the system running.”