Dear Editor,
Money walks! Investors leave! These are the lessons Guyanese should have learned from the previous attempt to build the Amaila Hydroelectric power plant; facing a barrage of criticism, Blackstone (an American company) withdrew from the International Development Bank-funded project, which then became dormant throughout the APNU+AFC years. No major power source was added to the grid during those Granger years, and the men of Article 13 made no criticism then, because nothing planned equals zero to criticise. A win-win for Granger-Article 13, no doubt.
Fast forward to the present, and there are still objections to the project, despite a public tender process – in which it is clearly stated that the Government of Guyana will not invest any money, and that the project would be implemented strictly by the Private Sector using Private Sector funding, and the GoG would simply buy any/all power produced by the plant.
Given that Christopher Ram is listed as a member of Article 13, I would deem it highly unlikely that he is ignorant of these conditions, even if others in the organisation are incapable of accessing public information.
Why then would Article 13 make an issue about the cost of anything but what the GoG will pay for that power?
Winston Brassington made a presentation at the 2022 Energy Conference (which can be viewed for free online), in which he stated the winning bidders submitted a cost of USD 0.0773 per kWh. Any Guyanese knows we pay USD 0.30 per KWh presently, and our power demand has long since outstripped the supply.
The criticisms of Article 13 are a smokescreen at best, comparing costs to a hydro plant in Ethiopia. Why do we care what it costs to build, if we are not footing the bill and are satisfied we are going to get power at less than a quarter of the price we pay for electricity now?
Article 13 speaks about costs GPL would incur to deliver electricity to the consumers; are they suggesting that we explore wireless power options? Or are they waiting on someone to offer to foot that small bill for us in true ‘beggar-bowl’ mentality mode?
Editor, Article 13 also attempted to make a populist argument that it was too costly to attend the Energy Conference, thereby depriving Guyanese of access to vital information. However, Christopher Ram was in attendance as a delegate, and Yog Mahadeo joined those protesting for an end to oil production outside; all presentations were/are available for free via online video links.
The Energy Conference claim by Article 13 is either based on wilful ignorance or agenda-driven disingenuousness, or a combination; but whichever, Article 13 has detracted much from the value valid civil society criticisms would offer a nation seeking to build for her future.
Sincerely,
Robin Singh
