GPL power woes: 28.9MW generators arrive, Govt “pressing hard” for quick installation – VP

Power disruptions woes are expected to be reduced, as the Guyana Power and Light’s highly anticipated generators have arrived in the country on Wednesday evening.
Indications are that, within the coming days, the units will be installed with emphasis on urgency. The new generators are expected to contribute a significant 28.9 megawatts to the national grid.
Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, has informed that the new sets were transported by the MV Skystar, which moored at the Muneshwers Wharf. The 76 containers with engines, totalling 28.9MW, along with radiators, fuel and lube oil separators, have been offloaded. The generators were to be transported immediately to the substation at Columbia, where they will be connected to the grid over the coming days.
“This follows the PPP/C Government’s investment of US$27M to boost the generation capacity of GPL,” Indar has indicated.
To address the increasing demand for power, Government has made a substantial investment of US$27 million in procuring the generator sets from Apan Energy Service. These sets are expected to contribute an additional 28.9 megawatts to the grid. Once fully operational, the reliable power output is projected to reach around 203 megawatts, providing a significant boost to the overall power supply on the coast.

Investments
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said Government is ‘pressing hard’ to have the generators installed as soon as possible. While this will provide relief in the interim, he hinted that the administration might have to inject more resources as demand grows, until the gas-to-energy project is realized.
“We made a significant investment because we wanted to ensure that there is more power in the country, and we may have to invest even more before the gas-to-energy project comes on stream, but that will solve all of this definitively,” the VP told media operatives at his weekly press conference.
The demand for power has been growing exponentially as new developments unfold, and this will definitely continue in the new year, when the Guyana Power and Light projects that demand will be at 236 megawatts.
When Government entered office in 2020, the demand was 120 megawatts. This grew to 136 megawatts in 2021, then 156 megawatts by 2022, and then peaked to 184 megawatts in 2023. This year’s peak was recorded when all industrial customers were on the grid.
Power usage peaked this year after many self-generating consumers migrated to the public grid in a bid to capitalise on the lower power costs – an advantage of Government subsidies to keep the cost of living stable.
Currently, there are 557 consumers who are capable of self-generating, otherwise classified as ‘Class D’. These would consume about 30 percent of total power generated for the entire grid. They have since been removed from the grid at peak hours in order to cater to the needs of common households. In taking them off the grid, Minister Indar relayed, it has helped to reduce blackouts.
GPL has about 224,000 customers in total, with a current demand of 172 megawatts. With a capacity of about 167 megawatts, thousands of customers still face disruptions.
It has been reported that with rapid expansion of the housing programme, new infrastructural projects and the overall expansion of the economy, a higher output of electricity remains critical. These interim arrangements are being made by Government until the 300-megawatt gas-to-energy plant comes on stream in 2025. When that project comes on stream, Guyana could save between US$150 million and US$200 million in foreign currency that would have otherwise covered the country’s fuel import bill.
The scope of Guyana’s gas-to-energy project consists of the construction of 225 kilometres of pipeline from the Liza field in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, where Exxon and its partners are currently producing oil.
It features approximately 200 kilometres of a subsea pipeline offshore that will run from Liza Destiny and Liza Unity floating, production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessels in the Stabroek Block to the shore. Upon landing on the West Coast Demerara shore, the pipeline would continue for approximately 25 kilometres to the NGL plant at Wales, West Bank Demerara. (G12)