THE Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) 69kV submarine cable is back in operation following the successful completion of remedial work.
According to a release, following its return to operation, approximately 14 Megawatt (MW) of power is being supplied to the eastern section of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).

The submarine cable, which links the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston power plants, sustained damages on November 27. It was successfully energised last evening by Ningbo Orient Wires and Cables Company Limited on sub-contract from China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC).
GPL promised that before Thursday evening’s peak, they will link the West Demerara system with the remainder of the DBIS. It also said that while additional measures are in place to monitor the safety of the cable, the cable is still exposed to similar potential damage, but that come 2021, it will be pursuing more substantial steps to further secure it.

GPL said that while the restoration of the cable will further improve grid generation capacity, stability and resiliency, the continued poor performance of the distribution network remains cause for serious concern. Over the past month, the company said, the entire West and East Bank of Demerara were subject to repeated outages, due to burnt connections, fallen poles, burnt transformers, damaged cables and switches, vegetation encumbrance, among other reasons. Similarly, over the past week, it said, the East Coast has been experiencing similar problems.

Noting that the performance of its aged distribution network at this critical period of the year has not served to complement the efforts and resources that have been put into adequate generation capacity, GPL said, “Therefore, our posture through the holiday season would be to continue network inspection to identify threats, and take corrective action. No planned outages will be scheduled until after January 15, 2021, however, corrective actions will be taken in emergencies.”
As it went on to say, “With the frequent heavy downpour, it is difficult to locate and rectify network faults. As such, we implore residents to assist us in identifying problems so that we can swiftly attend to them. “Reports can be made to our Emergency Call Center on Telephone Number 226-2600, and our Public Relations Unit on 225-1471. To all our valued consumers, a very merry Christmas and a prosperous 2021.”