Sophia fire causes power outage to over 10 ECD villages

Several villages along the East Coast of Demerara were subjected to a power outage on Tuesday night and leading into Wednesday, which resulted in mass inconvenience and confusion.
On Wednesday, several concerned and irritated residents told Guyana Times that the power supply went off at about 23:55h on Tuesday night but up today Wednesday afternoon, electricity was not restored.
After numerous reports from residents were made to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the company posted on social media that some of the affected areas included North Sophia, New Haven, Belvoir Court, Blygezigt Gardens, Bel Air Village, Bel Air Promenade, Bel Air Gardens, Bel Air Springs, Liliendaal to Industry, the University of Guyana and the Cyril Potter College of Education.
Guyana Times understands that there was a fire at Sophia Dam, which damaged the utility company’s pole and primary structure. GPL stated that workers were unable to transport a piece one equipment at the dam; and as such, works were being carried out manually to replant new poles.
“Due to inaccessibility to the dam to accommodate out pole planting equipment, remedial work to replant the structures are being done manually,” the company stated.
The public was advised to exercise caution “when lighting fires in close proximity to GPL’s infrastructure”.
One concerned resident voiced her discomfort to Guyana Times Guyana Times on Wednesday morning, noting that she was afraid that some of the items which she brought for Phagwah will spoil.
“The cut off out light last night. It’s from Bel Air, Sand Road, Liliendaal, Cummings Lodge, Industry, Pattensen, Turkeyen and other areas. Since last night the light come off and we buy things for Phagwah. We want to know why until now the light ain’t come on back,” she said.
The woman noted that strangers are roaming the streets and many persons are fearful that homes can be burglarised.
Back in February, the company had experienced a cyber-attack on its computerised systems and the power company did note that a ransom was requested. It noted that permanent corrective measures were taken, which included initiating an information system quarantine.
GPL said during this period, there were service interruptions for customers visiting its offices attempting to submit queries and new service applications since the Customer Information System was taken offline.
Meanwhile, Guyana Times understands that power was restored to the communities late Wednesday afternoon.