New generators arrive next week to cushion power demand

Facing some delays, the generator sets procured by Government to address the growing demand for power are now expected to arrive next week and expected to provide relief from constant power outages.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo informed at his Thursday press conference that there has been a slight delay in the arrival of the transformers, crucial for integrating the generators into the power grid.
Despite the setback, Jagdeo assured that the generators are anticipated to arrive by December 15. It was initially expected that the sets would be installed in time for the holiday season, when power consumption is higher.
“There were some issues where some of the transformers may be delayed because they were caught up in shipping. But we were told that GPL has transformers that they can use to have these units installed. The generators have to arrive and the transformers are what makes them work. If you get the generators without the transformers, you can’t install or bring them into the grid. They told us definitively that this will be done between the 11th to the 15th,” Jagdeo outlined.
To address the increasing demand for power, the Government made a substantial investment of US$27 million in procuring the generator sets from Apan Energy Service, 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.
The demand for power has been growing exponentially as new developments unfold, and this will only continue in the new year – projected by the Guyana Power and Light at 236 megawatts.
When Government entered office in 2020, the demand was 120 megawatts. This grew to 136 megawatts in 2021, 156 megawatts by 2022 and then peaking 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 and otherwise classified as ‘Class D’. These would consume about 30 per cent 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 common households. In taking them off the grid, Minister Indar relayed that 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 the gas-to-energy project comes online, Guyana could save between US$150 million to 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)