IT was reported in the press that the Vice-President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Dr. Bharat Jagdeo, made clear his government’s plan to “resuscitate” the PPP/C flagship hydropower plant at Amaila Falls.

With a total shutdown in the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected system on Sunday, August 16, 2020, for a period of just over an hour because of poor maintenance under Mr. Granger, who was busier with Court proceedings than running the nation, this news from Dr. Jagdeo could not have come at a better time. Gas guzzling generators are not the solution for Guyana, and Sunday night proved this fact. An energy mix of a variety of renewable energy sources, backed-up by fossil fuel generators, remain Guyana’s only viable long-term solution. It is time we all make that mental shift, and embrace our largest natural source of energy with open arms – water. The time is now!

Therefore, this message from Dr. Jagdeo is most welcomed. From the preliminary estimates, the Amaila Falls Hydro Project (AFHP) is expected to cost just under US$1 billion and will be able to generate 165 megawatts of stable and reliable electricity for 11 solid months of the year, with the additional month during the dry season being used for scheduled maintenance. The last time this newspaper checked, the project is still bankable, meaning that the financiers are still open to the idea of funding the project and all the technical studies are still relevant. Therefore, the restart timeline is expected to be much shorter than it was before 2015.
GPL currently sells electricity to the nation at about US$0.33 per kWh and this is expected to be reduced by 25 per cent within the first year of the operations of the AFHP, and by 50 per cent within five years; and by the end of 20 years by as much as 80 per cent. Think of this carefully. For an ordinary family who pays G$20,000 in light bills every month, they can experience annual savings in the first year after the completion of the Hydro Project which can exceed G$60,000, and by the fifth year, that family can see double that amount of cash staying in their pockets. The impact for the working families at the bottom of the economic ladder can be immense.

The original model was designed for the private investor to build and operate the project for 20 years and then transfer it to the people of Guyana. In the grand scheme of things, this project can function without any major works for 100 years. Can you imagine what that means for a small nation like Guyana – 100 years of low cost and reliable electricity? These are the kinds of transformational projects that can transform Guyana from a third world nation to a first-world one in one generation. And with the oil money, we can even buy out the investors after 10 years and push through the full benefits to the people even before the full 20 years.

At the end of the day, even with the Gas Turbine Option as put forward by His Excellency, the President Dr. Irfaan Ali, the Amaila Project is still needed to add to our stock of low cost and reliable electricity suppliers. This energy can be diverted to any part of the nation and a real option remains the new industries and service providers expected to populate the area alongside the transportation link (Road or Rail) to Brazil. Low cost and reliable electricity on this transportation link between Lethem and the Coast can catalyze the private sector as they open new industries and service businesses to facilitate this Brazil to Guyana trade route. The vision is to fully ‘power-up’ all of Guyana, all of the time with low cost and reliable electricity. The opportunities are infinite; all Guyana needed were a pair of hands on the steering wheel like His Excellency, Dr. Irfaan Ali.

This project can take between 4 – 5 years to move it from the Framework Agreement to the conclusion of the construction. The Access Road to the Project site just needs some maintenance and it can be fully functional again to support the developer. It is expected that a project of this magnitude will create close to 1,500 jobs directly and much more than that indirectly. According to an IMF Report, this project can bolt on as much as “6%” per annum over the four years construction period and just under three per cent per annum thereafter for the next 30 years.

It is therefore commendable of Vice-President Jagdeo when he said that “We are going to go back to hydro and an energy mix – hydro, wind, solar– all of them. Amaila would be part of that too.”

It is time to make Guyana Great!