GUYANA Power and Light (GPL) Chief Executive Officer, Bharat Dindyal yesterday said that as part of the Chinese US$42M Infrastructure Development Project, they are presently seeking to have the submarine cable, from the New Kingston Plant in Georgetown to the Demerara River, linked to the West Coast Demerara sub-station at Vreed-en-Hoop and laid at a total depth of 10.5 metres below the Demerara River channel.

Dindyal told a press conference yesterday at the Duke Street, Kingston, Georgetown headquarters that the submarine cable is currently laid at 3.5 metres in the bed of the Demerara River and since there have been talks of dredging the river to a depth of 10 metres the submarine cable would be sitting right at the surface making it exposed and at risk for damage by vessels.
Dindyal added that they were working with one contractor to lay the cable a further four metres below the Demerara River channel, but unfortunately that arrangement did not materialise because of the unavailability of equipment and as such GPL is now working with another contractor to lay the submarine cable to a total depth of 10.5 metres below the channel.
He explained that the submarine cable would still be safe even if the Demerara River is dredged as the cable is quite costly- to the tune of US$5M, so they have to protect it.
Dindyal said the completion of this project would dramatically improve the quality of power supply on the West Coast, East Bank, East Coast of Demerara and with connection of the Berbice grid to Demerara the reliability of power in Berbice will also dramatically improve.
“You might have seen complaints of the reliability of power supply in Berbice but we did say that we have encountered a problem at Canefield, Berbice with our 69KV transformer which was compounded by transmission problems with the release of transmission #53 Village and Canefield and West Berbice to be out.
“We have since completed major transmission links with the installation of protection equipment  but we are still working on the 69KV transformer but the transmission lines between West Coast Berbice and upper Corentyne and Skeldon is now linked to #53 Village and linked with West Berbice through Canefield,” Dindyal said,
He added that as such they are operating on a low in that area until the 69KV transformer is restored, but linking the Berbice and Demerara systems would enable the Berbice system to benefit from the strength of the Demerara system, therefore, GPL is at a stage now where they could expect some dramatic improvements to the quality of power supply to consumers in Berbice.
On March 12 this year, GPL began laying of the submarine cable from the New Kingston Plant, in the city, to the Demerara River to be linked to the West Coast Demerara sub-station at Vreed-en-Hoop, and with the completion of the laying of the submarine cable will bring 15megawatts of power to West Coast Demerara.
In addition, he noted that with the brand new 36-megawatt plant at Kingston, coupled with other capacity in Demerara, GPL will deliver all the required power to West Demerara.
Dindyal said that the operational cost of the submarine cable is in excess of US$5M; but the entire project costs US$42M, funded through a loan from the Chinese.
When completed, the $42M infrastructure development project at Kingston will have the capacity to deliver over 150 megawatts to West Demerara.
The GPL CEO told reporters in March that the new Kingston Plant will be expanded to provide inter-connection to West Demerara, and a new certified MVA transformer purchased by GPL will be connected and commissioned after expansion of the Kingston sub-station for the city.
He said that a total of 70 MVA transformer capacity at the Kingston Plant, coupled with the 250MVa sub-station capacity and under the Chinese infrastructural development project, there will be an added 117MVA in six new sub-stations, which will significantly boost supply for consumers.
Dindyal explained that the seven new sub-stations in Sophia, Greater Georgetown, cannot have transformers but have transmission facilities. Of the six sub-stations, two are located on the West Demerara, one in the city, one on the East Bank Demerara, and two on the East Coast Demerara.
He said, “We are hoping that progress will be sustained this year; and, as planned, by mid next year, when all these works have been completed, West Demerara would be integrated with East Demerara, and Demerara with the Berbice systems; all will be inter-connected.”