Micobie gets cheap electricity through UAEP
RESIDENTS of Micobie in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) are now beneficiaries of cheap  electricity through the  Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP). The source of the current is solar energy and officials of the programme, which is headquartered in the Office of the Prime Minister, have disclosed that, as of last week, panels were installed on 40 of 65 homes in the village, which are already in receipt.

Installation on the remaining 25 houses is ongoing and is scheduled for completion within the next three weeks.

Micobie is situated 25 miles North East of Mahdia and, with a population of 260, is the latest remote community in that region to benefit from the UAEP, a Government of Guyana/Inter-American Development Bank (GOG/IDB) funded project, which started in December 2005 and has spawned thousands in rural and hinterland communities.

The Micobie systems were acquired by UAEP at a cost of $200,000 each and workmen began to install them in January, resulting in each household paying a $500 monthly tariff.

Engineer-in-charge of the (UAEP), Mr. Horace Williams, explained that the small charge is merely to cover anticipated maintenance costs.
He disclosed, too, that some specially trained residents of Micobie will be responsible for such maintenance, having been trained by the contractor, Farfan and Mendes, during the installation of the panels.

Williams said: “The community, itself, has the knowhow to ensure that the panels are adequately maintained and can, therefore, give long lasting and trouble free service to each home.”

Regional Chairman, Mr. Senor Bell reported that other remote communities, which have derived benefits from the UAEP, are Kurukubaru, Waipa, Chenapow and, by far the biggest, Mahdia, where a new $150M one megawatt  generator and grid will be commissioned in a matter of weeks.
The Mahdia grid is to be managed and operated by a board comprising businessmen and other residents of the village and the operations will be named Mahdia Power and Light (MPL), a company already registered, he said.

MPL will be a separate entity from the Guyana Power & Light (GPL) and members of its board will be required to manage it in an efficient and cost effective manner, Bell said.

After its inauguration, Mahdia residents will, for the first time ever, get 24 hours a day electricity at a rate considerably cheaper than that which they have been paying a private provider.