US$31M to stop blackouts
Ministers David Patterson and Annette Ferguson, inspecting the high voltage power lines that kissed at the junction of Lamaha Avenue and Vlissingen Road, causing a massive malfunction in the GPL system
Ministers David Patterson and Annette Ferguson, inspecting the high voltage power lines that kissed at the junction of Lamaha Avenue and Vlissingen Road, causing a massive malfunction in the GPL system

…GPL announces plans to build four new substations

Following the recent spate of unscheduled blackouts, the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) said it will be expending US$31M for the construction of four new substations
Chief Executive Officer (ag), Renford Homer, made this disclosure during a site visit at the junction of Lamaha Avenue and Vlissingen Road, where the feeder supplying electricity to Queenstown and environs kissed Sunday last causing a massive malfunction in the system. Maintenance was done and a high voltage line was dropped to prevent any reoccurrence. As such customers can expect less power outages. Homer said a second transmission line will be built linking Kingston substation to the Sophia substation for redundant purposes and additional loads that may occur within the system.

At the site Tuesday also was Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson and GPL officials. Homer said the new sub stations will be located at Wales, West Bank Demerara, Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, Williamsburg, Corentyne and Hydronie, East Bank Essequibo.
He explained that the six substations already within the system will be expanded to produce better voltage stability and reduce technical loses because power would be travelling across shorter distances.

“This is a continuation of what was started under the Chinese infrastructure programme which was a US$40M programme that concluded in 2014 and now we will be entering phase two,” the state owned Power Company CEO said.
In explaining what occurred Sunday last that resulted in load shedding, the CEO said the Interconnected System experienced a shutdown following a system overload that started at the junction of Lamaha Avenue and Vlissingen Road which affected the power supply to Queenstown, Alberttown and environs. Following the shutdown, restoration efforts commenced and given the reoccurrence, and potential damage to the network, a comprehensive examination of the high voltage corridor was conducted.

This examination, he said revealed a fault in the 69kv transmission line linking Sophia to Kingston. Consequently, a load shedding exercise was necessary as a result of the de-energizing of the affected 13.8kv feeder and the 69kv transmission line. Customers along the East Coast Demerara, East Bank Demerara, West Bank Demerara and Georgetown were affected by this exercise.

Minister Patterson said tenders will be opened to construct an alternative line so that in the future if the main line that feeds the Sophia substation goes down then there can be a backup. “This is what we inherited and what we are addressing…the system is made to protect itself so if there is a problem it shuts down. The crew was dispatched on Sunday night literally with torchlights starting from Kingston walking the entire stretch looking for the problem which was quite difficult,” the Minister said. He said that the issue is not one of generation but one of a systematic upgrade.

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