– families and small businesses greatly affected – Regional Chairman

ESSEQUIBO Coast residents have been incurring heavy financial losses during the prolonged power outages caused by a fault on one of the machines used to facilitate the distribution of electricity through the various power lines.

A Guyana Chronicle team travelled yesterday to the area and spoke with residents as well as Region 2 Chairman, Mr. Parmanand Persaud about the power outages which they have been experiencing since Monday.
The Chronicle team caught up with a fisherman on the Anna Regina foreshore and the man identified himself as Kalicharan Rooplall. He said that he had travelled to the area to relax but usually he would be at sea “catching his hand” but over the past few days he has been unable to do so since he has no access to ice to preserve his catch.
He showed this publication items he had brought to the foreshore to dump since they were spoiled in the refrigerator due to the power outages. He said that other foodstuff in his fridge had become unfit for consumption and also had to be dumped.
The fisherman yesterday pointed to his boat on the river bank as he explained his plight in being unable to go to sea since such a venture would have been a waste of time and resources, since the fish when brought to shore would not be purchased by residents unless it was ‘iced down’.
Meanwhile further along the foreshore another fisherman, Sanjay Persaud of Cotton Field stated that the blackouts has caused him hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses and he has had to close off his work for the week.

He said that he has eight workers who are unable to show up for work because they cannot go to sea. His concerns were similar to that of Kalicharan Rooplall. According to Persaud, he is not getting ice to freeze his fish and so heading to sea would be a waste of time.
The man pointed to three freezers which he said he uses in his business. One of the freezers had nine small containers of ice which was already melting. He said that the ice was far from adequate for the amount of fish he brings ashore from one trip at sea.
The other freezer had about eight spoiled fishes which were floating in about six pints of water. Moreover, the motor for that freezer had been damaged owing to fluctuating power supply in the region, according to Persaud. And the third freezer contained nearly three hundred fishes which were all spoiled and would have to be dumped.
Asked when last they were faced with such a scale of blackout woes, the man related that Essequibo is not really known to suffer blackouts in the way it has seen over the past three days.
The man said that they have not been getting any satisfactory word from the power company and the situation was truly causing the region financially.
According to Persaud, the two boats he operates are his but he is still paying for the engine for one of the vessels and being unable to go to sea is quite burdensome as he also has other bills and commitments.
Asked to assess the total losses he has suffered thus far since the power outages and the dumping of his spoiled fish, the man said his losses are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

NO PARTIES OR DANCES
And residing next door to Persaud is his brother Kasim Bacchus, a tailor. The man said that for him all parties and dances are called off for his customers since they were unable to get their clothing completed.
He said that on Wednesday night he was forced to create a makeshift lighting gadget to put on some buttons on a shirt for one of his customers. Mr. Bacchus emphasized that the power outages have affected him significantly.
He stated that many persons brought cloth to him to sew garments within a specific timeframe. According to him, he had already cut the cloth to specifications but was unable to meet his customers’ deadline and he is now left with the fabric on his hands. The persons are no longer interested in having the outfits since the occasion has passed.
The businessman said that they are very concerned about the blackouts and are hoping that the power company sorts the issue out very soon.
Yesterday morning when this publication visited the GPL generation facility at Anna Regina no one would speak to us with respect to the issues which were affecting the residents and the inability of the power company to provide the region with a reliable supply of electricity since earlier this week.
One man who is closely associated with the operation said that all things were back up and working. However he was soon proved wrong since the power went again and the community was once more plunged into blackout woes.
Meanwhile, speaking with this publication at his office in Anna Regina yesterday morning, Regional Chairman, Parmanand Persaud said that he was advised by the power company that a “Bus—Bar” which is used to get the power to the distribution channels somehow managed to get moist causing the problems.
He said that he was assured that the technicians were working to have the issues fixed. He also noted that the region was truly affected by the power outage, especially families and small businesses.

GIVEAWAYS
The Guyana Chronicle was informed that small businesses in the region were forced to gather children and other persons to whom they shared away ice cream and other items which required cold storage.
Residents said that they were advised by the power company that they were being issued with two hours of power for the day to facilitate the pumping of water and the performance of other essential small chores.
They said that they were also advised that the power would come at 15-minute intervals. However this reporter was present in the region when the power was restored at exactly 07.45 hrs yesterday morning after a prolonged period during late Wednesday night and into the wee hours of yesterday morning.