Technicians working on the engines at the Bartica Power Plant (GPL photo)
The Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) has announced a delay in restoring power to Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), due to technical difficulties at the Bartica Power Plant. The restoration, initially expected on Tuesday evening, has been hindered after the plant lost two of its three engines on Monday, which severely impacted its power output.
In a statement issued on Monday, GPL explained, “Due to two engines being offline at the Bartica Power Plant, there will be 4-hour intervals of service within the township.” On Tuesday, the company assured residents that technicians were working diligently to expedite repairs and return to normal service as quickly as possible.
However, a press release on Wednesday revealed that despite the team’s efforts, they encountered unexpected alignment issues with the alternator of the Caterpillar engine, preventing it from coming online as planned. GPL said its team worked until 02:00h to address these issues and reported substantial progress. They anticipate completing the repairs and restoring power by late Wednesday night. Additionally, a contractor is on site to assist in repairing the other offline engines, which will provide reserve generation capacity.
Bartica’s Mayor, Anthony Murray, who visited the power plant on Tuesday night, confirmed with this publication that technicians were working diligently to restore both engines. He noted that specialists for the Cummings and Caterpillar engines were on-site, with the Cummings engine expected to be operational between 19:00h and 20:00h.
The mayor explained that the Caterpillar engine faced technical issues, including problems with a component and wiring, which further delayed its restoration.
