CHIEF Executive Officer of Guyana Power & Light (GPL), Mr. Bharat Dindyal admitted yesterday that the utility’s converters incur quite significant losses.
He said, in fact, annually they lose almost five million units of electricity in the conversion process which costs the entity almost $300M.
Dindyal said, in terms of losses, the converters are quite a significant source and the removal of them from the service has been a long desire of GPL.
He was addressing a media conference, at the GPL Duke Street, Kingston, Georgetown headquarters, about the status of the frequency conversion process.
“Additionally, you will know that we did mention that the converters were installed in 1976 and are quite old and it takes a lot of work to keep them operational,” he said.
Continuing, he informed: “The equipment, typically, operates 24/7 and it’s tough to do maintenance because they are working all the time. So, with the removal of these converters, our operating costs will, obviously, reduce and we would not incur those losses.”
He went on to state: “You would know that, last year, we did convert Alberttown and Queenstown and we did it seamlessly I would say, and presently, we are concentrating on certain other sections of Georgetown.”
Dindyal said Guyana has a dual frequency system of 50 to 60 hertz. In 1971, the country had enacted legislation to require consumers to either bring in 60 hertz equipment of dual frequency and, since the early 1980s, an exercise was started to convert sections of the city.
He said the first such activity ended in the mid 1980s and, from then to now, the electricity supplier has continued, in an incremental way, to convert the fringes of the city.
Dindyal explained that, before the commencement of this current exercise, GPL had a 50 hertz demand in the capital for over 27 megawatts.
He said: “You will know that, in the Guyana Electricity Corporation (GEC) days, the steam station at Kingston, which operated at 30 megawatts, was our main 50 hertz generator and, in fact, when a decision was taken to close it, about a year and a half ago, the Wartsila plant at Kingston, which is rated at 22 megawatts, was commissioned in 1997 and remains our main 50 hertz generation station.”

DIFFICULTIES

Dindyal indicated that one of the difficulties GPL has in Georgetown is managing the 50 and 60 hertz systems and to allow both to function in harmony as part of the national grid.
He recalled that, in1976, three frequency converters were installed at Sophia, which had the capacity and allowed the 50 and 60 hertz to be linked and enable the seamless transfer of power from 50 to 60 and from 60 to 50 hertz.
Dindyal said the ongoing GPL exercise is to complete the frequency standardisation as it is called.
“We are, currently, in phase one, converting 10 megawatts to 60 hertz and, in phase two, we are going to do a further eight megawatts and, of course, the final phase will be done, hopefully, by the end of next year or early 2012,” he offered.
Dindyal said the second phase of the conversion in Georgetown has to be done simultaneously with the converting of two of those four machines at the Wartsila Plant and the final phase will be done when the last two machines are converted.
“So, by the time we finish the network conversion of the Kingstown Wartsila Plant, the old plant will also be converted to 60 hertz completely, and with that happening, we will have a standardised frequency in Demerara and, of course, the use of the converters as a critical link will no longer be necessary,” he said.
GPL Networks Operations Manager, Mr. Godfrey Bellamy said the exercise commenced in September and the phase one estimated demand is about 10 megawatts but the area extends from Kingston to sections of Cummingsburg, Lacytown, Stabroek, Robbstown and Charlestown and will be done in the first quarter of 2011 from early January.
He said the areas they have converted so far include, Kingston and South Cummingsburg, and this weekend and Wednesday, Lacytown, as well as Robb, Regent, Charlotte and Croal Streets are targeted.
Bellamy said, by month end, GPL will be looking at Robbstown and the final stage will be completed in December.
Present on the occasion, too, was GPL Divisional Director, Mr. Elwin Marshall.