SEVERAL Guyanese yesterday protested the impending 26.7 percent increase in electricity rates in front of the Sidewalk Cafe on Middle Street, Georgetown while an Alliance For Change Press Conference was taking place inside the building.

The picket was organised by the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and saw the turn out of several Guyanese bearing placards with messages appealing to the parliamentary opposition to restore the budget cuts.
Speaking on behalf of the protestors, radio and television personality Ossie Rodgers said that it is important to get the message out that the Guyanese people are now faced with paying higher electricity bills because of the actions of the opposition.
He stressed that they were protesting in an effort to persuade the opposition parties to “tell the truth” which, according to him, is that they (members of the opposition) are responsible for the hike in electricity rates because they cut the subsidy provided for Guyana Power and Light (GPL) by $5.2B in the 2013 National Budget.

Asked whether the management of GPL should be held accountable, Rodgers said: “The whole issue of revamping management can be dealt with differently. We the public should not be faced with that.”
He related that those participating in the protest actions were not there to examine issues relating to the management of the power company, but rather, they are concerned with “bread and butter” issues.  He reiterated that the budget cuts are the reason for the impending increase in the electricity rates.
Rodgers further stated that he would prefer to see better management at several companies and not just GPL. He stressed that this does not mean that regular Guyanese people should be faced with paying more for electricity.
Meanwhile, the government has laid the blame for impending increase squarely on the shoulders of combined opposition.
During a PPP media briefing earlier this week, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh pointed out that electricity tariffs have not increased since 2007, even though the price of fuel has gone up since then, noting that GPL has carried this increased cost without passing it on to its consumers.
He said, therefore, that GPL was in financial distress even before the cut to the subsidy was imposed, but the cut exacerbated the situation.
Singh said that whilst it is unwelcome news, it should be surprising that GPL now finds itself in a situation where its finances cannot sustain the operations of the company without an increase in tariffs.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who has responsibility for the electricity sector has called on Guyanese to view the tariff increase proposed by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc., as one that is coming after five years of no adjustment during which time oil prices had risen by about 60 percent.
Speaking on a programme on the National Communications Network (NCN) on Monday, Hinds said GPL has been foregoing the increase in tariffs that it ought to have been receiving. The company has calculated over $20B of foregone income.

The annual government subsidy has been meeting a lot of the shortfalls in the income required by the company. It has been part of the Government’s efforts to ensure that customers are not made to bear the burden of the high cost.     
The Prime Minister said GPL needs to have enough money to keep its operations running, and if this tariff is suppressed then ultimately the level and quality of service will be degraded.
The Private Sector Commission (PSC) also yesterday issued a statement calling on the government, GPL management and the opposition to immediately institute talks aimed at a restoration of the $5.2B to the GPL subsidy.