Linden to be connected to main GPL grid; PM Phillips says electricity costs will not increase 

Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips on Wednesday said that Linden will be connected to the Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL’s) main grid, known as the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).

Amid this plan, and other electricity ventures in Region 10, the Prime Minister assured Lindeners that they would not pay more for electricity.

“We will be building a transmission line to connect Linden to the DBIS and we will also build the Amaila Falls (Hydropower Project) and when Amaila Falls comes on stream, Linden will benefit from 165 megawatts of electricity,” the Prime Minister said on Wednesday at the contract signing ceremony for a mega solar farm in Linden.

Linden’s current electricity demand stands at about 11 MW. The Linden Electricity Company purchases power produced by the Bosai Mineral Group, which operates in the town, and distributes it to thousands of households across the mining town. However, the power bought and distributed to Lindeners is heavily subsidised by the government.

According to the Prime Minister, about $5 billion is invested annually to subsidise electricity for residents in Region 10.

The government hopes that a mega 15 MW solar farm will help wean the town off the power arrangement with Bosai. The Prime Minister, however, noted that connecting Linden to the DBIS means that it will benefit from the extra power that will be supplied soon from the 300 MW Gas-to-Energy project at Wales and later, the 165MW Amaila Falls Hydropower project.

As the government expands electricity connectivity, the Prime Minister emphasised that Lindeners will see no rate increase.

“We will not increase electricity rates here… but we will find ways of bringing the cost of delivering electricity to the people of Linden, down,” the Prime Minister said.