-increase in power supply anticipated

THE Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has boosted its capacity to provide stable electricity by an aggregate capacity of 37.2 MW after operationalising three of five generators that were taken offline following disruptions on January 15, 2022, at its Garden of Eden power plant on the East Bank of Demerara.

According to a press release issued by the power company on Friday, each unit has a capacity of 9.3 MW, which means that once all units are back online, the company will be able boost the power supply of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) by 46.5 megawatts (MW).

The company noted that units No.1, 2 and 3, were returned to service on February, 04, 2022. The No 1 unit was fitted with new turbochargers and a fuel injector pump with upgraded components, while the No. 2 and 3 units underwent a comparative test for 48 hours at full capacity before they were returned to the grid. The No. 4 unit was back in operation on Saturday.

The No .5 unit will continue to undergo inspection, replacement of a turbocharger, testing of the fuel injector and lube oil change. Parts are on-site to effect the changes. Optimistically, the No 5 unit is expected to return to operation on February 8.

Since the disruptions in early January, 20 engineers from the Wartsila Corporation have been working round-the-clock to pinpoint the cause of the issue and have it rectified.

In November 2020, the government received five new dual-fuel generating sets from Wartsila, costing a whopping US$41 million and which boosted the power supply of the DBIS by 46.5 megawatts (MW).

Following the initial shutdown of the generators, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips had noted that the generators were taken offline on the advice of the technical officials, to avert any Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) challenges or any damage that may occur to the facility as a result.

“This is a decision that was made based on safety. This is a US$55 million investment, and precautions are necessary; we don’t want anybody to be hurt, just because we decide to ignore what is happening and run the plant,” Prime Minister Phillips had said, adding that with the Demerara Berbice Interconnected system now having less supply to cater to the demand for electricity, there may be need for load-shedding.

The Prime Minister also previously disclosed that the East Bank Demerara facility was still under warranty, and as a result, the contracted Finnish company would be liable for any and all expenses.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, had previously echoed similar sentiments when he explained that Wartsila has agreed to undertake the necessary costs for repairs to the equipment as part of its contractual agreement with the government.

According to Minister Indar, the company has signed an engineering, procurement, and construction contract (EPC contract) with the government.

He had explained to this publication that this is a construction contract in which the contractor holds responsibility for the design, procurement, construction and handover of a project.

According to the minister, this also includes “performance guarantees” which means that the contractor is solely responsible for the project, and in the event that there is an issue with the project, the EPC contractor would be liable for any defects and rectifications, or would have to provide compensation to the employer.

“They have not handed over the project to the Government of Guyana through GPL. We have not commissioned it as yet, because all of the works were not completed and the testing and the reliability and everything [were] not completed and during that period is when the issues occurred. So, they have to deal with all the cost for rectification and everything,” he had said.

Minister Indar added: “Wartsila also has the operate-and-maintain contract for the plant as well. So, apart from them building it out and handing it over to the government, they also have the contract to operate and maintain it as well; so it’s fully their responsibility.”