LAST year saw an eight-per-cent increase in the importation of petroleum-based products, which, in layman’s terms, amounts to some 14,877 barrels per day.But the good news, however, is that said imports cost 15.42 percent less than they did back in 2015, when prices were pegged at US$71.02 per barrel.

This is according to Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Mahender Sharma, who made the disclosure during the Ministry of Public Infrastructure’s end-of-year press conference Wednesday.
He also reported that under the fuel marking programme, some 20,925 gallons of illegal fuel were seized during the course of last year.
And of the 35 joint operations that were conducted with other law enforcement agencies, seven are presently before the courts.
In terms of plans for the year ahead, Sharma said the government has allocated G$1B towards the implementation of a series of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
Among said projects are the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on the rooftops of 64 government buildings, and the establishment of a solar photovoltaic farm at Mabaruma in Region One (Barima-Waini).
Noting that another project of the government’s is the procurement of some 5000 energy-efficient street lamps, resulting in energy savings of $158M annually, Sharma said:
“The GEA will continue its efforts in researching and deploying energy-efficient lighting technologies, with the installation of 20 solar-powered street lights at Agatash, Bartica; 100 energy-efficient LED street lights at the Timehri ‘base-road’; and the purchase of 600 photosensors to replace defective units on existing street lights.”