SEVERAL consumers are calling on utility companies to look into the situation of sloping poles in their respective communities, which in some cases are threatening serious damage to property and could possibly injure people.
Carolann Lovell, 31, is concerned about a leaning pole located on Princes Street, Werk-En-Rust, just opposite the Mayor and City Council’s (MCC) Solid Waste Department.
“If the pole falls, we would be out of electricity. I have classes, so I need the electricity and the internet. If that actually falls, everyone around here would have to suffer and that is very unfair. Plus, it could damage people’s vehicles out there,” she noted.
According to Lovell, the pole has been in a precarious position since last year, and she first reported the issue to the Guyana Power Light Inc (GPL) in May, 2021, but it is yet to be addressed. She said she has since made several follow-up reports.
“It’s a bit frustrating, because it’s like they are waiting for something to happen before they come. If it falls, they will come and replace it right away, but by then everyone will be out of light and internet because of their negligence. We will have to suffer. We just want to have them come and fix the pole,” Lovell noted.
Many of the utility poles belong to GPL, while others belong to the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT).

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Bharat Dindyal, told the Sunday Chronicle that the company currently has an ongoing maintenance programme to deal with these issues.
“Most instances these poles are planted next to established roads, so as the roads move over time, depending on the weather, the poles would also be shifted away,” Dindyal explained.
He noted that reports from citizens about the leaning poles are investigated.
“When a customer reports that a pole is leaning, there is a response, but the customer may not necessarily see a GPL person coming to inspect, because the pole inspectors don’t come with a big truck, they come with a motorcycle. If the pole is not rotten, they would not report it as needing attention,” Dindyal said.
The power company has also been exploring the use of concrete utility poles to replace wooden ones as a means of dealing with the issue. Last year, GPL invited bids for the supply of concrete poles and cross arms as they continue to move in that direction.
In ‘B’ Field, Sophia, a utility pole that was planted close to a drain has been leaning progressively close to the home of 60-year-old Charles Murray, who said he reported the issue some time ago. Murray said he is now more concerned as the pole has moved closer to his property, and there is a young child that would often play in the yard.
“This situation is over 10 years, I’m not lying or exaggerating. We first reported the situation in 2013/2014 when it first started leaning. Since then we keep calling. It is by God’s grace that it hasn’t fallen. It can destroy my property, and it can even cause death, depending on who is passing around at the time. This is total neglectfulness of GPL’s duty. They need to have personnel going around, visiting to check on these poles,” Murray commented.
Also in Sophia, business owner Shamar Gibson noted that he eventually got tired of reporting about a leaning pole outside his place of business and spent approximately $100,000 out of his pocket to have a new pole planted and the utility wires transferred to the new pole.
“It had been leaning a very long time, over a year. It was leaning way down like it could fall at any time. The new one that erect here, I pay personally for some guys to come and erect this post because GPL we call them a lot of times, we took out pictures, went into them, and they never came.”
Gibson plans to reach out to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) which has oversight for utility companies in Guyana, to find an avenue to be compensated for monies he spent to plant the new pole.