The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) will be placed in even more financial difficulties in order to meet the six per cent pay hike that has been awarded by the Arbitration Tribunal and will require the $5B that had been withheld by the combined parliamentary opposition.

This is according to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, in a brief interview with this publication, who lamented the fact that the power company is already in deep financial distress that has been made worse by the opposition cuts.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Winston Brassington at the time of addressing the call for increased wages earlier this year had said that its five per cent proposal would have had to be met through government subsidy.
The Arbitration Tribunal awarded a six per cent increase for one category of workers and 5.5 per cent for the remaining categories.
Dr Singh reminded that already the company faces significant constraints as a result of the fact that the majority of its revenues generated would have to be spent on fuel imports.
Last week the Arbitration Tribunal that had been set up by Minister of Labour, Dr Nanda Gopaul, presented its report, awarding the workers a maximum six percent increase in wages, a move welcomed by the union representatives.
The lower-scale employees have been awarded a six per cent increase, while other employees will benefit from a 5.5 per cent increase.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the GPL, Aeshwar Deonarine at the time of receiving a copy of the report had lamented the budget cut that directly impacted the company.
He reminded that many of the factors affecting the cash flow of the power company are exogenous, and outside the ambit of its control.
Deonarine drew reference to the fuel bill of the power company, which, he says, continues to pose a serious challenge.
The GPL Deputy CEO lamented that with between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of its revenue being expended on fuel, there is very little left to expend on the plethora of other areas that require cash injections, inclusive of maintenance and capital expenditure.
This, he said, will inevitably have a “domino effect.”
He reminded that an increase in electricity tariffs is always an option, but this has to be placed in the context of the consumer’s ability to pay.
“It comes back to how you allocate the scarce resources…We would like to give more increase, if possible, but we have to strike a balance.”