…several West Demerara villages affected

A second Guyana Power and Light (GPL) submarine cable was disrupted on Thursday due to another a maritime accident.

This most recent accident took place four days after disruption to the power company’s 69kV submarine cable, which has resulted in power outages in sections of the country. “Our 13.8kV submarine cable that rests along upper Demerara River within proximity of Craig, East Bank Demerara was dislodged by a barge sailing along the Demerara River,” GPL reported on Thursday. The incident occurred around 04:23 hrs.

It said as a result of the incident customers from Vriesland to La Retraite were without electricity until 07:46hrs while efforts were underway to alternatively power the affected customers from the Vreed-en-Hoop Substation.

“The dislodged cable was located this afternoon by deep water divers and efforts are being made to hoist and examine it for damages. Repairs were effected to the onshore transmission and distribution infrastructure that connects to the cable as this was also damaged during the incident,” GPL reported.

It has completed examination of the 69 kV submarine cable laid on the river bed along the channel of the Demerara River connecting Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston Power Stations. Based on the examination there are no further damages. Investigations conducted on Wednesday June 5, revealed a compromised section of the cable approximately 0.7 km offshore from the Kingston operations.

It said that officials from the China Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) were a part of the efforts to retrieve and examine the submarine cable and are at present preparing a curative plan of action.

“In the interim, our Company is continuing to engage MARAD in identifying an alternative route to lay a 13.8kV submarine cable along the Demerara River, in an effort to reconnect our Vreed-en-hoop operations to the Eastern sections of Demerara Berbice Interconnected System. Both entities are also engaged in discussions regarding establishing improved maritime conduct within proximity of our submarine cables,” GPL said.

As a result of the disruptions, GPL has put in place a temporary load shedding system which would see a number of communities experiencing power outages today. On Wednesday, GPL explained that the damaged submarine cable linking the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston power stations, hampered by two generators which are being repaired at the latter unit and the absence of an adequate back-up system, are the main causes of power problems in recent days in the city and its environs.

In light of these challenges, the power company is engaging two local companies– Banks DIH Limited and Gift Land- to source additional power for the national grid, mainly for the peak time at evening hours.

The power company sources power predominantly from the Vreed-en-Hoop substation which has a capacity to provide 26MW of power. Of this figure, 12MW is utilized in the West Demerara area while the additional 14MW is distributed on the East Demerara via Kingston.
As an immediate fix, GPL’s Chief Executive Officer, Albert Gordon said that GPL is working around the clock to fix one of the two generators at the Kingston Power Station; one has been down for scheduled maintenance while another needs a spare which is being sourced from overseas.

The power boss stated that within a week when the generator is fixed, it will be able to supply some 7.8MW of power to Kingston.

In addition, using a lower voltage cable, the company is hoping to source another 6MW of power from Vreed-en-Hoop to boost its capacity on the East Demerara. Gordon said too that two additional generators from Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast are also expected to be brought down to boost the power capacity here.

Another alternative the power company is pursuing is the sourcing of power from the two local companies. The two significant potential suppliers– Banks DIH and Giftland– use heavy fuel oil and have the capacity to boost the power grid, Gordon informed the media.

Banks DIH installed a 10MW to boost their operations and Gordon said discussions were held with the company to provide GPL with power. He said while the beverage giant were not too enthusiastic, the power company is still hopeful. He said the power from Banks DIH would be required mostly for the evening. That is also the case with power from Giftland and he added that there are legal constraints regarding the sourcing of power from the latter.

“There are some legal constraints which the government is assisting us to work through,” Gordon said regarding Gitland, noting that there is also a price issue to be ironed out.
The price paid for fuel by the two companies is higher than what GPL pays, nevertheless, Gordon said negotiations are ongoing and at this point, an arrangement has been reached with Giftland, subject to an agreement. “We do intend to inter-connect,” he said of the arrangement with the latter entity.

As regards fixing the submarine cable, the CEO said aside from ensuring the cable is fixed in the shortest time possible, the company has reached out to the contractor who laid the cable. He noted it would take a few weeks to rectify the problem there.