PRIME Minister Samuel Hinds said, yesterday, that even if all of the allocations to Guyana Power & Light (GPL) in the National Budget were met, the sum would not be enough for it to fund all of the things that it “really needs to do.”

In fact, GPL is foregoing some $4.7 billion for other things that it should be doing, he told a press conference in the studios of the National Communications Network (NCN) on Homestretch Avenue, in Georgetown.
He declared he is particularly “perturbed and perplexed” at the Opposition’s cutting of the GPL allocations, remarking that they are not gifts to the company but provided for the consumers of electricity.
“What are we going to do now? What is to be done at this time? Who is GPL? If you’re going to beat GPL, who is the GPL you’re going to beat? What are we to do in this situation?” Mr. Hinds asked.
He said: ”We need to get away from this idea that GPL burns money, takes money and burns it up, just destroys it, wastes it. That is not true.”
The PM said the possibilities would be to put out less electricity or start selling shares to raise at least the investment side money that has been cut. However, he observed that there are implications in the latter option, for, once shares are raised, returns will be expected and the economic prices would have to come into effect.
Mr. Hinds said authorities have been working to bring into being, the Amaila Falls Project which is expected to significantly reduce electricity costs.
He said, in view of the benefits that scheme is anticipated to bring, he is puzzled at the move by the Opposition.
“We need to get Amalia going and there is the need to get on with the road and Government is putting in some US$80M in equity. Government has taken a position that we will put that equity in and we will forego, at least for the first period, any returns so as to keep the prices low. Amalia will give us, on the average, a generation cost that is 50 percent of our present generation cost utilising fuel,” he explained.

Rising standard
Noting that Guyana’s demand for electricity has been growing in line with the growth of its economy and people’s rising standard of living, he said: “Demand has risen, from about 33 megawatts in 1992 to 87 megawatts now, in the Demerara system and so one has to put in the investments to deliver.”
Hinds said losses, in terms of electricity theft, have been stalled at about 31 percent but one of the items cut in the Budget could have made the network more robust so that current stealing would have become more difficult.
He refused to accept the argument that the power company is plagued with a management problem, arguing that: “If anything at all, GPL has been trying to have a stiff management and, maybe, they should have an even stiffer management.”
Meanwhile, the combined Opposition, last Thursday, slashed $5.2 billion allocated in the Budget for GPL that falls under the Office of the Prime Minister. The reduction was through a motion moved by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Carl Greenidge, reducing the capital support for the utility from its $10.2 billion request to $5 billion.