WIDESPREAD AVAILABILITY OF CHEAP, RELIABLE POWER PRESAGES ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REVOLUTION IN GUYANA

THIS column has always avoided the issue of addressing the supply of electrical power on a macro scale, such as hydropower.  This was so because the supply of hydropower, solar and wind power and natural gas had always so far been mired in politics and the Guyana Consumers Association cannot be involved in politics or be perceived to be so involved.  At this moment, however, the supply of renewable power and even natural gas seems to have fallen out of the glare of politics, and this allows us to now speak about renewable energy, a subject of the greatest consumer concern.

Most of the electrical power in the country is supplied by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), which uses aging generators,run on heavy diesel oil.  These emit Co2 gas, which is a negative climate change agent.  Fossil fuel costs the country over US$100 million per year, and this results in  the KwH costs being one of the highest in the world.  Our electricity supply is also unreliable, resulting in frequent blackouts. This situation has negatively affected the quality of life of the population and has prevented investments, both local and foreign, from being made in the production of goods and services.

Eventually, the long-suffering Guyanese consumer was offered some respite when Dr Ashni Singh, Senior Minister of Finance, initiated the Amaila Falls Hydro Project (AFHP).  The Amaila Falls was first identified as one of the best falls for hydro development by the Canadian company, Monaco, in 1976, during the Presidency of Mr LFS Burnham.  As minister,Dr Singh was responsible for conducting extensive technical and financial studies of the Project and Environmental and Social assessments.  Blackstone, one of the world’s most prestigious hydro developers, was engaged to do the project.

In 2015, as the Project was about to take off, the government changed and the new government discontinued the it.  Dr Singh felt great sadness as he knew that Guyana had lost a brilliant opportunity of embarking on transformative and accelerated social and economic development.

In 2019, Dr Singh’s party returned to government and was determined to solve the age-old electric woes of Guyana once and for all. They aggressively embarked upon an energy mix of hydropower, solar, wind and gas from the Stabroek offshore oilfield.  Though gas is a fossil fuel, Guyana’s pledge to the International Community of achieving 70 percent renewable energy  by 2030 is achievable by hydro and solar power alone.

The gas brought ashore by pipeline from the Stabroek Block will be cleaner than the heavy fuels at present used by GPL  and will reduce the price of electricity by half.  The gas pipeline project is economically viable because the US$900 million investment would be amortised in a short number of years.

The Amaila Falls project will begin in the latter half of 2022 and will be undertaken by China Railways Group, one of the most experienced and largest companies in the field.  The BOOT  model would be used – build- own- operate-transfer to government at no cost after 20 years.  They would sell electricity to GPL  at US$ .07737 per KWH.

In addition to Amaila, a similar hydro project will be undertaken in Region Eight. This will be identified in 2025 after the basic preliminary studies have been completed.  Once up and running, it will produce some 370 megawatts by 2035.  It should be mentioned that a hydropower system has an estimated lifespan of 100 years and replacement of mechanical and electrical parts would be 30 percent of the initial cost.

Solar power has already been successfully and profitably used in a few businesses, such as Demerara Bank’s head office on Camp Street and will be an important part of the energy mix.  The government has already secured funding of US$75 million to establish solar farms in eight grids which will supply 30% of electricity along the Essequibo Coast, Linden, Bartica, Lethem, Mabaruma, Mahdia, Leguan and Wakenaam.  In the 2021 Budget, provision was made for the installation of PV mini-grid systems in the villages of Sebai, Waramadong, Paruima, Kurukubaru, Whyaka, Mission Capoey, Lake Top Capoey, Annai, St Monica and Karaburi.

This drive to provide cheap and reliable power will fuel an industrial revolution, since both local and foreign companies could now manufacture competitively.  Most importantly, the widespread availability of cheap and reliable power would improve the population’s quality of life and fuel an education revolution.  The Amerindian communities in the interior would be among the main beneficiaries of this electricity availability, and such availability will narrow the differences in quality of life between coast and interior.

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