CONSTANT power outages (blackouts) have had Essequibo Coast residents fretting and fuming at the performance of the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL), while members of the business community have been having a headache to deal with their losses.When there is prolonged blackout, consumer traffic is significantly reduced and businesses without generators suffer losses due to spoilage. Those with generators have to foot the fuel costs to put their generators into operation — money they can ill-afford at this time, since business on the Essequibo Coast has been experiencing a slowdown.

Though angry about the frequent blackouts, Essequibo residents also have a good sense of humour. They told Guyana Chronicle that last Tuesday’s power outage was the worst they had experienced. According to them, the blackout struck like a “brutal uppercut”, sending the entire Essequibo Coast into total darkness and requiring more than 24 hours to only partially recover. From homes to businesses and even to the hospitals, no one was spared.

There were some concerns at the Suddie Hospital, the main hospital on the Essequibo Coast. At the time that the blackout struck last Tuesday, the generator at the hospital was down and regional officials had to scramble to get a replacement. They eventually moved a generator from the Education Department to the Suddie Hospital, but the entire process to get electricity back at the hospital took quite some time. Doctors who spoke under the condition of anonymity related to this publication that this situation affected items that required cold storage.

There are two main generators on the Essequibo Coast, and they have been in operation for a long time, but have not performed up to speed for “sometime now”, residents say. Added to this, the cost for their maintenance is high. Notice of tender recently appeared in the newspapers for the acquisition of two new generators to replace the current ones, which residents say have been “giving problems”.

They are calling for a speed-up of the acquisition process so that they could at least be spared the frequent blackouts they are currently experiencing.