THE Guyana Power & Light Inc. (GPL) has successfully repaired the damaged 69kV Submarine Cable, which links the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston Power Plants.

The armour and insulation protection of the cable was damaged at two locations in June and August by vessels traversing the Demerara River. Due to the extent of the damage, two repair kits had to be sourced from China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CMC), the company that laid the cable in 2012.

Repairs to the cable were delayed due to the discovery of the second damage in August, which required additional diagnosis and testing. Consequently, both kits were manufactured and shipped to Guyana.

Following the arrival of the kits, the contractor, CMC immediately commenced work to retrieve and repair the compromised sections of the cable, approximately 0.7 and 0.8 km offshore the Kingston Power Plant.

GPL, in a press release on Monday, confirmed that the cable has been repaired and power transfer was restored on October 24, 2019.

The power company, however, advised mariners and local pilots operating in the Demerara River to be cognisant of this development and to exercise extreme caution when traversing in proximity of the cable.

GPL has requested the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to closely monitor the movement and mooring of vessels in the vicinity of the cable.

As part of GPL’s contingency response to the damaged cable, a smaller 13.8 kV submarine cable was laid across the Demerara River in June, to transfer 5.5 Megawatt of power from the Vreed-en-Hoop Power Plant.