-Dr Jagdeo assures, says ‘unstable’ infrastructure necessitates lots of upgrades

AS the demand for electricity increases, the Government of Guyana is working assiduously to address concerns regarding the persistent power outages that are occurring across the country.

This is according to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) General Secretary, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who at a news conference on Thursday told reporters that while the government has been working to add more power to the system, the existing infrastructure is unstable.

“I am as concerned as any citizen because we are trying to put more power into the system, but there is [sic] a lot of upgrades to the transmission and distribution system we have to do,” Dr Jagdeo said, while responding to questions from the local media.

Though it can produce up to 36 megawatts (MW) of electricity, the recently introduced power ship has not been able to stabilise the national grid.

“It’s not stable. The moment you put more power into the system, you get this and that’s why we have gone out to tender for the upgrade.”

Jagdeo highlighted the government’s intentions for massive changes to the electrical grid, stating that they have pre-qualified roughly 20 companies to boost the infrastructure before the anticipated gas-to-energy project goes online next year.

“They have just pre-qualified, I think about 20 companies to do a significant upgrade before the gas-to-energy project comes on stream.

“We’re in a mad rush to keep pace until that big project comes on stream next year that will put 300MW into the system,” he added.

He noted too that the government is spending just over $160 million to build several substations to aid in the distribution of power more efficiently.
Dr Jagdeo further mentioned how the construction of multiple hotels and housing projects, coupled with the rapid development, has resulted in a dramatic increase in power demand.

“Regular hotels can consume about 1 MW of power, and with so many new developments, we are in a race to keep up,” Jagdeo stated.

The government he noted, is focused on long-term solutions that would improve the lives of citizens.

“This is not just about short-term solutions. We are planning for a sustainable future…this is a complex issue that requires time and investment. We are not sitting idly by; we are actively working to resolve these challenges,” he said.

“Our goal is not just to provide reliable power, but to reduce costs significantly for our citizens,” he added.

Back in July, Dr Jagdeo had outlined a comprehensive plan to enhance the country’s power grid and reduce the cost of electricity.

He had disclosed that citizens will see real-time monitoring to manage and avoid power outages with the establishment of a state- of -the art control centre.

This constitutes one of the elements of the nation’s eagerly awaited gas-to-energy initiative.

Simultaneously, the government plans to allocate nearly $200 million to the enhancement of transmission, distribution, and generation capabilities. This investment aims to accommodate the anticipated increase in power supply upon the project’s completion.

“We are upgrading the whole system, and these would be smart grids. On the line itself, you have a fibre-optic cable that will be connected to the control centre. So, you won’t need to get a report when a blackout takes place anywhere else. [In] real-time, you can know from the control centre at Eccles…wherever in the country…or on the inter-connected grid, if you have a power outage, you can dispatch people immediately,” Dr Jagdeo told reporters previously.
This will particularly target localised faults where there are old transmission lines and transformers.

The gas-to-energy project is divided into five components: the laying of the pipeline to bring the gas to shore, the construction of the power plant and Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) facility, the installation of transmission lines, the construction of the control centre and upgrading of the distribution system.

The aim is to provide Guyana with a supply of 300 megawatts of cleaner power at 50 per cent less than the current price

The ambitious project aims to harness natural gas from the Liza Phase One and Two Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessels, channelling it through a 200km, 12-inch diameter pipeline to a new power plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility at Wales.

By providing a more reliable and cost-effective energy source, the initiative could drastically reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, while also cutting the cost of electricity from the current US$0.25/0.36 per kWh to an affordable US$0.06/0.07 per kWh.