A LATE-NIGHT fire that occurred over the weekend has caused ‘serious damage’ to crucial electrical infrastructure at the powerhouse of the Albion Sugar Factory in Berbice, Region six, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has said.

According to a press statement from GuySuCo, on Wednesday, the incident occurred at approximately 12:30 pm on Saturday, February 3, 2024, in the lower section of the power plant at the Albion Sugar Factory.

“Standard operation procedures within the factory were immediately set into motion, and the Guyana Fire Service was contacted,” the sugar company said.

Firefighters from the Rose Hall Town Fire Station responded promptly to the scene, and, according to the statement, the blaze was contained within two hours.

A preliminary report into the fire revealed that several major electrical infrastructures were destroyed. Those included: four-megawatt generating control panel, 2.5-megawatt generating control panels, a 700-kilowatt low-voltage cap set control panel, a 3.3-kV interbus transformer, an interbus transformer barker, a section of the low-voltage bus bar, and several major sections of the circuitry.

There were no reported injuries and the integrity of the Power House’s super-structure remained intact.
According to GuySuCo, extensive sections of the wiring, along with the damaged panels and all the breakers and other components, must be replaced in order to restore the factory to a state of readiness for sugar grinding during the first crop of 2024.

“The Guyana Sugar Corporation is in the process of concluding the needs assessment, and is working to procure the necessary replacement panels and other items. The Guyana Sugar Corporation will provide further updates on the progress of the rebuilding. The Corporation would like to take this opportunity to assure the sugar workers, factory workers, all other employees and the country that it will work without fail to rebuild and repair the Albion Sugar Factory as soon as possible.”