–says enforcement, cheaper power through GtE project key to reducing illegal connections

MINISTER of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, says electricity theft continues to account for roughly 12 per cent of losses incurred by the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), even as the company has significantly reduced overall losses through infrastructural upgrades and targeted interventions.
Speaking recently on the Guyana Dialogue, Indar said GPL’s combined commercial and technical losses have declined dramatically over the years, falling from the “high 40s” per cent to approximately 24 to 25 per cent.
“So, the power company, in the past, their loss factor — what you call their loss factor, which is commercial loss combined with technical losses — was in the high 40s back in the day,” Indar explained.
According to the minister, GPL has introduced a number of measures in communities where electricity theft has historically been high, helping to lower losses over time.
He said, “There were a number of initiatives that were put forward and implemented in specific areas in the country where electricity theft was high.”
Indar explained that GPL’s current losses are split between technical losses, caused by electricity travelling over long distances and commercial losses, including theft.
“We have worked to reduce that to now, it’s around 24–25 per cent, of which 13 per cent is technical losses, meaning that is line losses,” he said.
The minister added, “As power moves over long distances using 69,000 volts, the voltage tends to drop and you lose some of your power in that process. But then, you have about 12 per cent of it as well due to electricity theft.”
To tackle technical losses, Indar said the government is rebuilding Guyana’s electricity transmission network, with major international companies involved in expanding the national grid and increasing transmission voltage to improve efficiency.
“We have some of the biggest companies in the world in Guyana right now doing that. We have Power China and we have a company called Kalpataru, among others, that are doing the backbone and we are lifting the voltage from 69,000 volts to 230,000 volts,” he explained.
The upgraded transmission system, he said, will allow for the movement of bulk power across the coastline and connected areas while significantly reducing line losses.
However, the minister said addressing electricity theft requires both stronger enforcement and behavioural change.
“With respect to people stealing electricity, well, definitely, it requires more enforcement, but it also requires our people to change that kind of attitude and rather do the right thing,” he said.
Indar noted that GPL has a dedicated loss reduction department tasked with identifying illegal connections and correcting instances of power theft.
“One of the things we do, we have what we call a loss reduction department in GPL and they will go around and they will check to see who was stealing power and they will correct them,” he stated.
At the same time, the minister argued that reducing electricity costs through the Gas-to-Energy project could remove the financial motivation behind illegal connections.
“There’s an old principle: if there’s no incentive to steal, then you wouldn’t do it,” Indar said.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to reducing electricity costs by 50 per cent once the Gas-to-Energy project, now 72 per cent complete, comes on stream by the end of this year.
The tariff right now is around 23 to 24 US cents per kilowatt hour. If that is cut by half — by 50 per cent, which is a promise we made to the country — then the incentive to go and pay somebody to do some fancy stuff with a meter and have an illegal line into your business or your home…the incentive is not there, because your bills will be very minimal,” the Minister said.
According to Indar, the government’s strategy is to simultaneously strengthen enforcement, modernise transmission infrastructure and lower electricity costs in an effort to reduce both losses and electricity theft nationwide.