GPL still awaiting “parts” to fix damaged submarine cable one month later

Damaged submarine cable

As power outages continue to plague several parts of the country, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has said it is awaiting a “part” to rectify its submarine cable which was damaged over a month ago by a vessel in the Demerara River.

This was revealed to Guyana Times on Tuesday by a credible source attached to the power agency.
The source could not state where the material is being sourced from, neither could she state when it is expected to be in Guyana. There has been no word about when the part will arrive since most of the persons involved are tightlipped.
The 13.8kV submarine cable, which rests along the upper Demerara River within proximity of Craig, East Bank Demerara, was dislodged by a barge sailing along the Demerara River at around 04:23h on June 6, 2019.
As a result of this incident, West Demerara customers from Vriesland to La Retraite were without electricity until 07:46h, while efforts were underway to alternatively power these customers from the Vreed-en-Hoop Substation.
Officials from the China Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) were a part of the GPL efforts to retrieve and examine the submarine cable.
Both entities are also engaged in discussions regarding establishing improved maritime conduct within proximity of the submarine cables.
Another submarine cable across the Demerara River linking the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston power plants was also damaged four days before the other cable was restored about two weeks later. GPL had warned, however, that residents along the West Coast of Demerara may not be relieved of power failures just yet.
In a statement to the media, GPL explained, “…customers on the West Bank and West Coast Demerara may experience periods of service interruptions as the Vreed-en-Hoop plant, which is now operating in an isolated mode, is not as stable as when it was interconnected to the rest of the DBIS (Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System)”.
The routing and laying of the new cable were done with the aid of the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Gaico Construction Services and staff from GPL’s Project Management Department, Engineering Services, System Planning and Designs, Network Operations and System Control and Engineering Services departments.
MARAD will be responsible for ensuring the safety of the cable from potential damage by oceangoing vessels, even as plans are afoot to have it laid at least three metres beneath the riverbed.
In the meantime, the new 13.8 kV cable will be providing over 5 MW of power to the Eastern DBIS.
“It spans approximately 4000 feet from Princess Street, Georgetown, to the GPL power station at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara.