Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has laid the blame for the current power woes in Guyana squarely at the feet of the APNU/AFC Government, and President David Granger in particular, whom he said failed to heed the advice of experts to forge ahead with the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project.
He said that due to the fact that generating capacity has been neglected under this Administration, despite his warnings, trouble will occur as it relates to the ability to provide reliable electricity for citizens of Guyana.
Jagdeo, at his weekly press conference on Thursday, said that the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project was the ideal alternative and instead of recognizing this, the APNU+AFC Government is bent on moving ahead with wind power, an alternative that is not feasible or efficient in addressing the constant power outages in Guyana.
“How many times are we going to say this? Buying wind power even if it is feasible and it is not corrupt, even if it was a clean contract, wind power is not buying capacity, it is buying energy. What about the periods when the wind stops blowing and there are several periods during the course of the day and in the night? You still need the fossil fuel to step up at that time because when the wind stops blowing it goes down to zero, you go down to zero and so you have to then match that with the comparable capacity to pick up that, you cannot build future or satisfy future demand on buying just energy, you have to also install capacity.”
According to Mr. Jagdeo, the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project is far more stable and reliable than any form of wind power source.
He added that while the government seeks to cast blame on the PPP administration for failures in the Guyana Power and Light’s services in terms of reliable and efficient electricity being provided, the government needs to blame the subject Minister and itself.
“It is the Minister (David Patterson) who is responsible for all of this and this government, the Minister directly, they did not appoint the board, and this Cabinet, they did not appoint a board for a year and a half. How can you have a Corporation like that and not pay attention to that? How the issues of generation and all of that is dealt with? The Minister is totally inept”, Jagdeo lashed out.
