THE Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has said that the power shutdowns experienced by the Demerara- Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) was due to suspected faults on the 69kv transmission line linking the Kingston Power Station to the Sophia Substation (Dispatch Centre). The company made this disclosure in a statement issued to the media on Wednesday, when it noted that the company was able to stabilise the system on Wednesday October 19 and restore services after making adjustments to its protection system.
Moving forward, the company said it intends to conduct a comprehensive maintenance exercise, in keeping with its Annual Maintenance Programme, on the medium voltage (11 kv, 50 Hz) and high- voltage (69kv) transmission line linking the Kingston Power Stations to the Sophia Substation scheduled for Sunday November 6, 2016.
As such, they sought to advise customers that this planned maintenance exercise, which is expected to be 10 hours, will affect areas on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), East Bank Demerara (EBD) and Georgetown. This will be a result of switching activities to ensure alternative-supply arrangements are carried out, and will result in some areas being without power for the duration of the exercise
GPL also revealed that during 2017, the company intends to commence construction of additional transmission lines between the following locations; a second 69kv transmission line linking the Kingston substation and Sophia substation; and a second 69kv transmission line linking Sophia, Good Hope and Columbia substations for the same reasons.
These second lines will provide redundancies in the transmission network.
Additionally, four new substations will be constructed between 2017 and 2018 at Parika, East Bank Essequibo, Canal Number two, West Bank Demerara (WBD), Kuru Kuru, East Bank Demerara (EBD), and Williamsburg, East Bank Berbice (EBB).
GPL also pointed out that the majority of blackouts being experienced are the result of Feeder Trips and that there is no shortage of generating capacity in the Demerara-Berbice Interconnection system.
Against this backdrop, the company plans to install electronic remote control devices on its distribution feeders in order to reduce the duration and frequency of these outages. This would reduce the current level of manual intervention for fault detection, isolation of affected areas and fault correction.
Generation
According to GPL, its generation is supported by an annual maintenance programme at all generating locations. This maintenance programme determines the extent of maintenance which is determined by the number of accomplished hours of each engine.
And during the month of October, a shortfall in generating capacity at the Bartica, Anna Regina, and Farefield generation facilities resulted in periodic load-shedding to a number of served areas. The company noted that these generating units are very old and their replacements were neglected over the years.
Bartica
Two of the three generating units were unavailable as a result of unexpected mechanical failures. At present, the company noted that two generating sets are in operation, but that one unit is operating at reduced capacity.
GPL also revealed that it has transported an operational generating unit to Bartica. This unit will be commissioned November 1, 2016, with an operational capacity of 1.5MW. The company intends to decommission Engine No. 2 for immediate remedial work to improve the output.
Once commissioned, the total generating capacity would be 2.8MW, which the company said is significantly above the peak demand.
The power company noted too that it has commenced the procurement process for a new 1.7MW HFO generating unit for Bartica. This is expected to arrive in May next year.
Planned for the future too, is the establishment of a renewable energy supply for the town to provide for load during the daytime. This is being done in collaboration with the Government.
Anna Regina
In this town, the company noted that two of the three generating units were unavailable as a result of unexpected mechanical failures. One of the two units was operating at reduced capacity. The peak demand is 2.7MW, while available generation was 2.5MW.
As a result, urgent repairs on the one unit with reduced capacity was undertaken and it has been able to increase capacity to meet peak demand.
Additionally, the third unit is undergoing a major overhaul and is expected to be re-commissioned November 11, 2016. Once this is commissioned, the company said that there will be an additional 1.3MW of generating capacity at this facility.
For this town too, the company has commenced the procurement process for three new 60 hertz/cycle 1.7MW HFO generating units for Anna Regina. This is also expected to arrive in May of next year.
GPL also intends to complete the frequency conversion from 50hertz to 60hertz from La Union to Charity, prior to the arrival of the new generating units.
In the future too, a new hybrid (fuel/ renewable energy) Power Station is planned for Anna Regina. The company expects to partner with Independent Power Providers on the renewable energy component of the new Plant.
Fairfield
According to the power company, there are two units at this facility which serve villages from Hoff Van Aurich to Supenaam. The capacity of one unit is sufficient to meet the peak demand of 1.3MW. However, at present, only one unit is available. The second unit was expected to be in operation by November 4, 2016.