THE Power Producers and Distributors Incorporated (PPDI) has set the record straight on its decision to secure a private booth at the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for US$10,000, noting that it is a long standing arrangement and that 20 per cent of the cost is being borne by staff.

“Indeed we have secured a private booth for the cricket. The cost is split between the company 80 per cent and employees 20 per cent,” a top source close to the state-owned company said. The source was responding to a Facebook post by PPP troll, Robin Singh, who intimated that while some parts of the country suffered power outage on Monday night, the PPDI was renting a booth for cricket. However the PPDI source said the rental of the booth covers entry for 16 persons per game for five games. The source added that when staff were courted to join PPDI, they were told that, they will be employed with conditions no less favorable than what they had enjoyed at Wartsila. “At Wartsila, we always had a private booth since Cricket World 2007 when the price was US$42,000 for four games and entry for 12 persons per game,” the source clarified.

Regarding the blackout early Tuesday morning, the PPDI source said this stemmed from an incident at the Sophia Control Centre.  In fact the Guyana Power and Light, in a statement, said at approximately 00:57hrs on Tuesday, a 13.8 kV feeder breaker at the Sophia substation suffered a failure resulting in a system disturbance which affected service to customers in Berbice and sections of East Bank Demerara. Customers residing in West Demerara were not affected. Power restoration commenced immediately with all areas being re-powered at approximately 03:25hrs with the exception of customers from ‘A’ to ‘E’ Field Sophia. These customers are without power as they are powered through the damaged F6 feeder emanating from the Sophia Sub Station. Consequently, our emergency crews were dispatched to the area and preliminary inspection of the damage includes rehabilitation of the circuit breaker.

According to GPL, remedial work is expected to conclude at approximately 16:00hrs. Thereafter, affected customers will be re-powered. GPL said it remains cognisant of the inconveniences and offers its sincere apologies to customers.