The ongoing efforts to complete the rehabilitation of power stations and reduce technical and non-technical losses in the electricity sector are on the agenda of the sector which has been allocated $5.8B this year. Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, during the presentation of the 2010 National Budget in Parliament Monday, said the sum will go towards financing the completion of the rehabilitation of the Canefield Power Station and the 69 Kilovolt (KV) link between Skeldon and No. 63 Village in Corentyne, Berbice.
Work is also scheduled to commence on the development and expansion of the 67 KV transmission lines and associated substations, the interconnection of the Berbice and Demerara interconnected system and the installation of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.
The latter will serve to integrate all major load centres along the coast to permit centralised generation using cheaper heavy fuel oil, and will facilitate efficient distribution of bulk power in the future.
The Finance Minister also disclosed that the power company will be installing 1,365 itron meters and 12,000 pre-paid meters, and upgrading the secondary conductors for better management of primary voltage.
These initiatives will fulfill the objective of reducing technical and non technical losses.
Effective monitoring of customer queries will also be effected, with the introduction of a $2.8M state of the art Customer Information Service (CIS) which will see customer accounts being immediately credited with payments made, accounts adjusted and a new bill immediately granted.
“This system is an enormous step forward in the operations of GPL utilising ICT (Information Communication Technology) to make services more efficient and consumer friendly,” Minister Singh said.
The accomplishments made in the electricity sector in 2009 were alluded to by Minister Singh, as he chronicled some of the highlights.
Along with the opening of the Takutu River Bridge and the certification of the Ogle airport, reference was made to the commissioning of the new 20.7 megawatt power plant at Kingston which Dr Singh described as “the first major expansion in generating capacity installed in 12 years.”
The Finance Minister noted however that Government’s continuing efforts to provide long term solutions to energy requirements will manifest with the development of renewable energy sources.
Electricity will be provided to areas including Chenapau, Yupukarri, Sand Creek, Red Hill, Santa Aratak, Katoonarib and Paruima, using solar home systems for 1,800 households and 12 schools.
Additionally, efforts will continue to develop the Amaila Falls project which has a 156 megawatt potential. Estimates from the developer, Sithe Global, showed a total capital cost of about US$600M.