THE Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has apologised to the nation for the total power shutdown that occurred in the city and its environs on Monday night.

The power company explained in a press release that on Monday evening at about 22:21 hrs, two 35 MVA transformers at the Kingston Wartsila Power Plant tripped and caused a total shutdown of the Demerara/Berbice System. An assessment of the origin of the initial trip is ongoing in an effort to perform the necessary remedial work and mitigate future occurrences.

GPL said that repowering efforts commenced at about 20 minutes into the shutdown in Demerara, and continued into Berbice, with the last affected community being repowered at 01:37 hrs on May 19.

The GPL has extended sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused, and has reaffirmed its commitment to providing a supply of quality and reliable power to its valued customers.

Shortly after 10:00 pm last Monday, widespread power outage caused some people to get very upset and vent their frustrations via social media facebook and blackberry messenger (bbm).

Some East Coast Demerara villages were repowered after midnight, with some sections being repowered sooner and others much later. (Michel Outridge)