A COMBINATION of rising electricity demand, scheduled maintenance, and damage to power infrastructure by third parties is contributing to the power outages being experienced across Guyana.
This was according to Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar during a press conference on Friday.
He said the electricity system is facing increased pressure from hotter weather, growing commercial and industrial activity, and a rapidly expanding customer base.
Indar said the main reasons for the power outages are hot weather, increased demand from businesses and industries, and more households using the grid.
He said the number of customers connected to the national grid has also increased significantly in recent years.
“From the end of 2025 to the end of July, we have about 5,000 customers added this year,” Indar said.
He added that the increase is even more significant when measured from 2020, when the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) customer base stood at approximately 204,000.
He stated, “From 2020 to now, we have been managing the sector from the government side. We have seen the customer base of GPL go from 204,000 to 250,000. Forty-five thousand customers went onto the grid—a massive increase.”
Indar said the unusually hot weather is further amplifying the pressure created by the growth in demand.
“So, what the weather is doing today is just maybe amplifying the problem more, as we have seen it in the numbers because of the heat,” he said.
He also said that some outages are deliberately scheduled to facilitate necessary maintenance and upgrades to the electricity network.
Indar described these as “forced outages”, which occur when power must be disconnected to allow crews to safely carry out work on the system.
He pointed to several ongoing infrastructure projects requiring temporary interruptions, including the replacement of transformers, 104 kilometres of network extensions, 55 kilometres of conductor replacement and approximately 105 kilometres of transformer jumper and associated extension work.
“When you change a transformer, we don’t have live maintenance. We have to take off the power to do it. When we do network extension for 104 kilometres, we have to take off power to do it,” Indar added.
The minister said such maintenance cannot be avoided because components deteriorate over time and must be replaced before they fail and cause larger disruptions.
“Because you can’t leave the grid to deteriorate,” Indar said, explaining that transformers and conductors can develop defects that ultimately cause lines to trip.
He said GPL has been instructed to notify customers whenever scheduled maintenance will result in an outage, including the expected start and end times.
However, Indar said not all outages are within GPL’s control.
He pointed to instances where cranes, excavators and other equipment come into contact with power lines, resulting in unexpected outages.
He added, “But if somebody go with a crane and jam the line, and somebody go on an excavator and jam the line, it causes outage.”
Minister Indar said the government has taken action against persons responsible for damaging electricity infrastructure, including imposing financial charges on them and pursuing the matters through the courts.
“We have done that because we are left with no other choice,” he noted.