– existing link limited to about 7MW, Indar says

THE Government is upgrading the electricity link between Georgetown and Kingston as part of efforts to strengthen the national grid, with a new cable expected to increase power transfer capacity to more than 120 megawatts.
This is according to Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, who said the existing cable between the two areas has been severely limited by damage over the years and can currently carry only about seven megawatts of electricity.
During his appearance on the Energy Perspectives podcast, he said the upgrade is part of the Government’s broader plan to create a more resilient and interconnected electricity network capable of responding to rising demand and equipment failures.
“The cable there that we have can only carry seven megawatts because so much persons drop their anchor,” Indar said, explaining that a ship had previously dragged its anchor across the cable, causing significant damage.
He said the damage has restricted the amount of electricity that can be transferred between Georgetown and Kingston, creating an additional constraint on the national grid.
According to the minister, the new cable is being installed beneath the Demerara River and is expected to significantly increase the amount of power that can be moved between the two areas.
“We don’t really move more than seven megawatts of power between Georgetown and Kingston. We have to move the power to stabilise the grid,” Indar said.
He said the Government has drilled approximately 25 metres below the riverbed to facilitate the new cable, which is expected to carry more than 120MW once completed.
The project forms part of a wider effort to establish what Indar described as a “ring circuit” for the national electricity system, replacing the vulnerabilities associated with a more linear network.
Under the existing arrangement, a fault affecting a major transmission component can result in a significant loss of generation from the grid.
Indar explained that when a major component fails, the resulting imbalance between available power and demand can cause the system frequency to fall and potentially trigger a wider shutdown.
He pointed to a recent failure involving a transformer at Kingston, which prevented approximately 55MW of available generation from entering the grid.
“When that power can’t go to the grid, the grid recognises a major shortage of power as against the demand,” Indar said.
He added, “The frequency on the grid now becomes unstable. It shuts down the entire grid.”