Cabinet promoting efficiencies, conservation among Linden residential customers – HPS
HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, said on Wednesday that Cabinet has noted the reactions of opposition politicians and their indulgences of the electricity anti-tariff increase protests and sentiments by residents of Linden. Addressing the issue at his usual post-Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the President on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, Luncheon said: “This is in the way of the declaration of Guyana Power and Light’s intention to, on July 1, 2012, implement the tariff increases in Linden.”
He added: “Cabinet could not help but notice the utter silence by the selfsame Opposition regarding the announced likelihood of identical action in the rest of the national grid; that is, increased tariffs as a consequence of the Opposition budgetary cuts of $1 billion from the GPL subsidy.”
Luncheon said Cabinet was, however, concentrating on the exercise to promote in Linden, in the face of the tariff increases, heightened efficiencies, particularly through incentivising conservation among residential customers.
According to him, the Minister responsible for Energy and Utilities and GPL was yesterday slated in Parliament to outline the plans to give effect to the increase in tariffs; the plan to support incentivising of conservation; and in essence presenting to the energy users and stakeholders in Linden information on the tariff increases, its rationale and its implementation plan, which is its actual design.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO), the youth arm of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), said it has taken note of the revival of the ‘Shut down Linden’ campaign by Opposition forces and some of its supporters over the introduction of phased increases in the electricity cost to consumers in Linden.
The PYO observed that a small group of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) supporters purportedly journeyed from Linden, on June 26, to stage a picketing exercise outside the Office of the President compound.

Transformation
The PYO said it has further noted the almost overnight transformation of the views expressed by APNU Member of Parliament Vanessa Kissoon; as, only a few months ago, when the ‘Shut down Linden’ campaign was first introduced, the claim was that the PPP/C  had continually neglected Linden, and there was no economic activity.
“It is most interesting to note her admission to the media, albeit in a reworked version, to make the case why APNU supporters in Linden should not pay the actual cost of the electricity they consume, as opposed to other Guyanese, when she stated that ‘a number of businesses are contemplating laying off workers because the spike in electricity rates would add to operational expenditure’,” a recent PYO statement said.
It continued: “This admission by the APNU MP of a currently thriving business climate in Linden flies in the face of earlier statements; and as such, the Opposition insistence against the payment of electricity tariff increases can only be construed as selfishness and avarice, considering that all of Guyana’s electricity comes from the use of generator plants.
“The tariff of US$0.26 kilowatt hour by a developing country like Guyana is low in comparison to hydro-powered and oil-rich Brazil, heavily developed and industrialised Germany and Denmark, and (is) not dissimilar from Barbados. But the people of Linden pay an even lower rate, US$0.02 per kilowatt hour. This is lower than oil-rich Trinidad; lower than Suriname, which gets 75 percent of power from hydro, and the other 25 percent from their own oil production,” the statement said.

Appalling
The PYO said what is even more appalling is the Opposition’s position to show support to Lindeners by cutting off communication to Amerindian communities in the Rupununi.
“This position is extremely malicious, and has to be met with condemnation by all civic-minded Guyanese. To hold hostage the vital supply routes to the interior so that they can fawn over their support base is irresponsible. However, it shows where their real interest lies.
“The PYO calls on all civic-minded Guyanese to reject this selfish and greedy position of the Opposition in wanting to cut off communication and transportation to the interior of Guyana in the interest of an unfair subsidy at the expense of the rest of the nation,” the organisation said.