PM Phillips commitment to end/reduce power outages

Dear Editor,
Since his appointment as the 9th Executive Prime Minister of Guyana on August 2, 2020, the Honorable Brigadier Mark Phillips was assigned several portfolios by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali. Included in his responsibilities are the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), the Information Sector, the Telecommunications Sector and the Energy Sector in areas such as the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), The Hinterland Electrification Company Inc (HECI) and the Guyana Power and Light (GPL). GPL is a publicly owned utility company which is the official supplier of electricity to the residents of Guyana. Its franchise area covers the entire three counties of Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice. Due to the recent constant power outages in the country, Prime Minister Mark Phillips has made GPL his primary focus. Despite his hectic schedule, especially his weekend outreaches, he promised the people that he will do everything in his power to end or significantly reduce the blackouts that have and continues to disrupt their lives.
The Prime Minister, His Excellency and the Vice President have stated that much of the problems with GPL were inherited from the previous government which they claimed did very little to maintain and upgrade the electric grids to meet the growing demands of the massive development across the country. However, Prime Minister Phillips is adamant that he will leave no stone unturned and that every action will be taken to bring an end to the blackouts. With his extensive military background and training, and as the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), PM Phillips has a reputation as a problem solver in the army and he has brought those skills to his leadership role in the government. He is action driven and is sincere and genuine.
In tackling the persistent frequent power disruptions in the country, Prime Minister Mark Phillipps reaffirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to transform the nation’s power infrastructure, boost its generation capacity and improve service delivery to the citizens of Guyana. He underscores the fact that extensive work is currently underway on GPL transmission and distribution systems including the installation of additional generators to enhance the power company overall functionality and efficiency and hence the reduction of blackouts.
According to PM Phillips, significant investments both in the short and long term are ongoing as part of the Government’s broader efforts to remedy the situation. This initiative he said is part of a much wider government-funded project aimed at enhancing GPL’s capacity throughout the country. However, he cautioned the citizens to be patient, because it will take time to improve and expand the power grids and install new generators to meet the growing power needs of the country.
The energy sector, particularly GPL, the Prime Minister explained, is the lifeblood of the nation’s development. It is the bedrock upon which the country economic prosperity, social progress, and the wellbeing of the people depend on. Brigadier Phillips acknowledged that without the energy sector, and in this case GPL, there will be no development and no progress will be made and the nation will be doomed. He said that over the past three years, tremendous improvement has been made by GPL and it is slated to add more megawatts to the electricity grid to stem the black-out woes faced by the nation. PM Phillips stressed that for Guyana to move to the apex of its development, there has to be an energy mix, such as the US$1.9 billion Gas-to-Energy Project to augment the country’s energy reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and overall economic development. The Prime Minister dedication to the citizens of Guyana is limitless and never-ending and “come hell or high water” he is committed to end or significantly reduce the power outages in the country which is an annoyance to the citizens.

Sincerely,
Dr Asquith Rose