Following the less than favourable quality of service residents and business owners have been dealing with in the Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two) district, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Albert Gordon has apologised for the discomfort residents are experiencing.
The CEO was at the time speaking at a recent meeting with acting Region Two Chairman Nandranie Coonjah, Councillors of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), the business community and residents in Anna Regina on the Essequibo Coast.
Gordon touched on matters relating to the present situation and future plans for the Anna Regina Power Station. He was accompanied by his Public Relations team and local staff. The GPL CEO informed the gathering that four of the Caterpillar generators are up and running, while noting that his staff is working tediously to repair the others. He added that he will be pay special attention to the region’s electricity supply.
During the question and answer segment, businessman Nizam Barakat questioned the long time taken by GPL to get the new power station up and running. The businessman lamented that he was part of the Wärsillä Plant Construction and everything was completed in three months.
In response, Gordon indicated that when he took office as CEO, all arrangements were already in place for the New Anna Regina Power Plant. He assured that he is presently working on a 20-year plan for GPL nationwide and promised to bring a more reliable source of electricity to the Guyanese people. Questions were also asked about hydro power and he said that is also being considered.
Robert Lewis, Vice President of the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) said his main concern was if the three new generators are capable of meeting the region’s electricity demand. GPL responded saying the Anna Regina Power Station will need another generator to be able to carry the full peak hour load; at present each one of the new generators is capable of 1.8 megawatts each.
Residents were told that a survey will be done to assess the region’s full electricity needs after which GPL will equipped the power station to meet the full demand with excess power in case of additional needs. A suggestion was made to purchase current from local companies in the region and the CEO said that he is already looking at the possibility to do so. After the meeting, a tour was given of the new building site which is scheduled for completion in November and commission in early December 2018.
In late August, the ECCI had called on Government to intervene to alleviate the blackout situation since residents, especially the business sector, expressed their fear of losing millions of dollars in cool storage items. ECCI President, Suean Seewnarayan told <<<<Guyana Times>>>> the commerce in the region was collapsing due to the poor service offered by GPL. She revealed that businesses were dumping products and those who have standby generators are pumping thousands of dollars into fuel and maintenance costs.
The Chamber had said Government was silent on the very important issue. “No one is saying anything about the new power plant at Anna Regina which is far from completion and residents are losing confidence in the Government for not providing answers. If this power failure is not given immediate attention, the entire economy of the region will collapse,” the Chamber President noted last month.
