–GPL’s Nandlall says, encourages customers to comply with established regulation of reporting increases

THE Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) has urged customers to notify the utility company before increasing their electricity usage, cautioning that unreported load increases are contributing to voltage fluctuations, damaged meters and burnt appliances across communities.
In a public notice, GPL reminded residential, commercial and industrial customers that any increase in electricity usage must be reported “in accordance with Sections 8.1 and 4.2 of the Standard Terms and Conditions (STC) for Electric Services.”
Under Section 8.1, customers are required to give “reasonable prior written notice of any increase in service requirements, including any increase in expected energy consumption,” allowing the company to determine whether it can supply the revised service without changes to its facilities.
Section 4.2 provides that GPL will advise customers of the time needed to facilitate the increased service requirement.
The notice follows what GPL described as “an increase in reports of voltage fluctuations, damaged meters and burnt appliances” linked to transformer issues and low voltage caused by unreported increases in electricity usage.
During a telephone interview on Monday, the Leader of GPL’s Management Committee, Kesh Nandlall, said that customers are required to inform GPL once they increase their electrical load.
“Once you change that, your main switch size and you increase your load, you’re supposed to come and let us know,” the official said, adding that GPL then reassesses demand and, where necessary, increases transformer capacity “so that the community wouldn’t be affected.”
According to the official, the current challenge is that electricity demand is rising across entire neighbourhoods without the company being informed.
“What you have now is a whole community increasing load and nobody’s coming into GPL and telling us anything,” he said, noting that notifying the utility is “normal within the regulations.”
GPL has observed that customers are increasing electricity consumption by adding air-conditioning units, installing heavy-duty appliances, expanding business operations and converting residential homes into multiple-dwelling houses, apartment buildings or commercial businesses.
While such changes may appear routine, the company warned that they can significantly affect the distribution network, leading to overloaded transformers, frequent outages and reduced service quality.
Addressing concerns about penalties, the GPL executive said customers are not fined for failing to report load increases.
“There’s no penalty,” he said, but noted that customers may be required to carry out improvements depending on the level of demand.
In some cases, significant expansions may require a dedicated transformer, which “may trigger a cost” depending on the load.
He also said that approval timelines depend on the scope of work required. If minimal work is needed, approval may be almost immediate, but larger upgrades can take longer.
Unreported increases, he warned, can also create safety risks. Undersized service cables and overloaded transformers can lead to low voltage, overheating, and even fire hazards in homes, while affecting entire communities.
When asked whether customers could be restricted from increasing their electricity usage, Nandlall said “no.”
GPL is, therefore, encouraging customers to contact the nearest Commercial Office or Service Centre to report any increase in load or planned changes to electricity usage.
This process should be done in conjunction with the Government Electrical Inspectorate (GEI) under the Ministry of Public Works.
By notifying GPL of planned load increases, the company said it can assess the impact on the network and take steps to upgrade or reinforce it as needed, ensuring electricity is delivered “safely and reliably without unnecessary interruptions.”