GPL must implement measures to minimise power failures from construction work – PSC Chair

…lauds short-term measures underway to meet energy demands before GtE

In light of recent power outages due to ongoing construction work, Private Sector Commission (PSC) Chairman Komal Singh has called for alternative measures to be put in place to avoid recurrences of such incidents.
The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) recently reported that vibrations from nearby construction work had been responsible for a power line tripping thus causing frequent power outages.
However, according to Singh, preventative measures are needed.
“For a lot of the infrastructure work that is currently taking place, we have construction taking place across Guyana. Many of these constructions are taking place right next to high-powered cable. Now, we cannot do construction work next to high-powered cables. So, whenever those works are taking place, those powers need to be cut.
“And obviously, communities and villages will be affected by that. So, it’s a work in progress. I think if we continue to work together when the Gas-to-Energy power plant gets up and running, that will also interject quite a lot of power into the grid. And we can see a lot more improvements taking place when that gets on stream,” Singh said.

With the recent spate of power outages across the country earlier this year, the Government had gone out to tender for companies capable of supplying 60 megawatts of power to the grid. Several local and foreign companies had answered this call, with the bids recently being opened.
According to the PSC Chairman, such measures are indeed necessary in the short term until the massive 300-megawatt Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project comes on stream next year – a project that is expected to also slash energy costs by half.
“It’s a viable short term. And that’s why we need to be strategic in the short-term power purchase agreement. We don’t want to have short-term power purchase agreements, where you have to put in millions of dollars in infrastructure work.
“And that’s why the ship that was rented recently, where a barge came and it was just connected to the grid, there was no investment cost for infrastructure work. So, when you finish using that service, the boat just needs to sail and go. In the old days if you see power purchase agreement come in, we had to build infrastructure,” he said.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) GPL had issued earlier this year to supply 60 MW net power generation base load capacity to the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was in preparation for the expected increase in demand during the upcoming Christmas season.
The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) had opened five bids from companies including Karpowership Global DMCC in partnership with Urbacon Trading and Contracting Inc – the same Turkish-based company from which the Guyana Government procured the 36-MW power ship.
The other bidders had included Machinery Corporation of Guyana Ltd (MACORP) along with US-based natural gas company Andalusian Energy LLC, JP Energy Solutions and VAS Energy.
In June 2024, GPL had also issued a tender seeking to prequalify potential financiers and contractors for upgrades to the grid. Singh stressed the importance of GPL continuously looking at ways of enhancing its system capabilities. That being said, he noted that from all indications the power company seemed to be on the path of ensuring that happens.
“We all would have a concern if we have a power issue. We have seen GPL and the Government of Guyana, over the last six months, they’ve actually done quite a bit of work injecting additional resources within the energy sector, to curb the increasing demand.
“You would agree that with all the development taking place, the electricity demand continues to grow daily. You would also agree that many of the gen-sets they’re currently using are very old, outdated gen-sets that need servicing,” the PSC Chairman further said.