PRIME Minister Sam Hinds reports that Latin American countries average 16%, North America, about 6%, and so too, Europe and Japan. At the other end, India, Bangladesh and a number of African countries are at 50%, and more. Closer to home, Jamaica has reported losses ranging between 14% and 23% over the last years, whilst Barbados is at about 7 to 8% in electricity losses.“Our electricity losses, both technical and non-technical, which fell from about 45% to 31% over the last 10 years, have been a source of embarrassment to me in my interaction with other CARICOM ministers responsible for electricity.

“The technical losses reflect our nation’s historical lack of money from the 1970s onward, and at the same time, the desire to meet our people’s call for electricity, in the adding of connections and, more recently, meeting an increasing demand as existing customers added refrigerators, air-conditioners and other appliances.”
But we are not talking about India, Jamaica, America, Barbados etc; we are talking about Guyana. So, just because America has the most mass murderers, Guyana should have the same, or even more? The ordinary man cannot afford air-conditioners; the bill would be more than he can afford.
It is not only the big business people and GPL workers who are thieves. There is a bunch of opposition supporters who squat on Government lands and don’t pay for electricity and water, but yet run lots of appliances in their fully lit squatting houses, with loads of water even to bathe their dogs.
I am willing to bet my last dollar that there are also supporters of the Government and those in opposition – PNC and AFC – who steal electricity, water, gas and don’t pay taxes.Honest citizens will perish in Guyana while the crooked ones will thrive, because the honest, hard working citizens will always have to pay for the crooked ones.GPL and the Government do not have the guts to take on the crooks, while the hard working, honest citizens pay through their noses for a bit of comfort in order to survive.
South Georgetown has been named as one of the most critical in terms of electricity theft, officials of the local power company testified on Wednesday. Appearing before Parliament’s Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources, executives of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) said that from records, losses in the South Ruimveldt, Guyhoc Gardens, Festival City, West Ruimveldt and Sophia areas remain the most worrying, with for every 100 kilowatts of electricity produced, 60% is lost through theft and technical faults.
According to Prime Minister Hinds, who holds the portfolio for energy, the losses represent a “great embarrassment”, but what it does is force the honest citizens to pay more than they can afford to cover those losses.
Ted King