US$110M needed to end blackouts – GPL CEO

A whopping US$110 million may be the answer to the country’s blackout woes and the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), Albert Gordon said he has already approached the government for assistance in securing the finances.

Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson said the Government will assist GPL in its quest to secure the funds which will be used to reconfigure the power distribution system.

Gordon, who is the former Director-General of the Office of Utilities Regulation of Jamaica, said the existing infrastructure in the country is the main reason for the constant power outages.

“The distribution lines that take power to your house, in several instances; they are connected directly to the generator. That’s not how you normally configure a power system. You generate, increase the voltage to a high voltage line, move it to a substation, reduce the voltage and then distribute it … that way, the generator is shielded from any events that may happen on the distribution line,” Gordon said Wednesday night at a cocktail reception at the Pegasus Hotel which was held in his honour.

He cited as an example the Kingston Power Station that could be easily shutdown if a tree falls on a power line connecting to that facility, the fault feeds back to the generators causing them to switch off.

In this regard, Gordon said the financing will be used to build some redundancy in the system, so if there is a fault or a need for maintenance, electricity can be distributed from the backup.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon told reporters at a post-cabinet press briefing on Thursday that the request for financial assistance has not been officially brought to the cabinet.

Harmon was nonetheless confident that government will provide whatever is necessary to ensure Guyanese enjoy a more stable supply of electricity.