GPL retrieves damaged submarine cable

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. has retrieved sections of its damaged submarine cable from the Demerara River on Wednesday.

In a statement, the company said with assistance from contracted deep water divers, it retrieved approximately 714 metres/0.7 km of the cable from its Kingston, Georgetown operation.

Upon examination, it was found that the armor and insulation protection of the submarine cable bore damages which extend to the conductors within the cable.

Further examinations along the remaining length of the cable that rests within the channel of the Demerara River extending to Vreed-En-Hoop will be conducted on Thursday, after which further updates will be provided.

GPL said it remains committed to expediting the remedial process, in an effort to re-energise the submarine cable and boost available generation capacity as it apologises for its load shedding exercises.

Residents across the country have been faced with increased power outages over the past few days following the damage to the cable which occurred on Sunday last.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Alfred Gordon explained that the Vreed-en-Hoop sub station via the submarine cable supplied 14 megawatts of current into the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System.

In order to deal with the lack of the 14 megawatts and the absence of two of its larger generators, GPL has been engaging in load shedding to protect the remaining generators from a complete shutdown.

The company said it will cost a significant sum of money to fix the cable and the process will take several weeks to complete. As such it is examining other alternatives to ensure reliable power supply.