Guyana has been grappling with an increased demand for electricity, beyond what the main power company, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) can currently supply.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, however, told the News Room that months ago, GPL ventured into a new US$27 million arrangement with Trinidad’s APAN Engineering for 17 generator sets to add to the local supply.
“The sets should come in November.
“We are preparing the site (at Colombia and Cane Field) and it should be up by December,” Indar told the News Room on Tuesday.
Currently, Guyana has about 174 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity. With the new sets from APAN Engineering, another 30 MW will be added to the grid.
According to Indar, GPL has consistently planned how it will meet the growing energy demands annually. The company entered into the arrangement with APAN Engineering because it was the best fit to meet the country’s current needs.
He emphasised that GPL was not being reactive; the company had planned for power demand increases and it consistently reviews proposals to supply more energy.
Eventually, power from the Wales Gas to Energy project and the Amaila Falls hydropower project will help increase energy supply locally.
In the interim, the government has taken the decision to take some of the large, industrial power users off of the grid during peak hours. Those hours are from 18:00 hrs to 22:00 hrs. Those users, by themselves, use about eight MW.
Indar was among the government officials who met private sector players on Monday. He said there was no pushback against the government’s move but companies have concerns because they would have to spend extra generating power for those four hours daily.
Those companies began taking power GPL’s grid because of the government’s move in 2021 to absorb the increase in water and electricity rates. This was done so the increased cost of fuel, which meant water and electricity generated at a higher price, would not be passed onto consumers.
