We are very wasteful people and now we are paying the price

Oct 16, 2008 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
The Guyana Power & Light Inc (GPL) insists that customers switch off lights and all appliances that are not in use as part of their famed ‘Switch it off; plug it out’ campaign yet there is much energy being wasted by the numerous public lighting structures that are left on all day at different locations in Guyana.

On numerous occasions, I have observed lamp-posts turned on during the day —sometimes all day. This is a regular feature on the Canje River Bridge, which links New Amsterdam to the rest of Region Six.

I interject to say that the former structure is one which is slowly deteriorating with huge gaping holes at the sections where the various portions are joined and numerous missing rails.

There is immense wastage of electrical energy on numerous street-lighting structures as well. GPL needs to look into whoever controls the lighting of these structures to ensure that they are turned off early and not left on during the day.

It bothers me how some people can be as wasteful as I see many times lights on during the day on numerous buildings, especially governmental buildings and residential buildings.

I wonder if persons occupying these buildings realise how precious electricity has become these days as getting a full day’s uninterrupted supply of electricity seems like the joy of a lifetime. GPL has announced that the Berbice peak demand for electricity has increased by several megawatts.

Whenever rising of demand occurs, does GPL even want to know why these changes take place? Are they even interested? They should be, after all, it is them who are producing the electricity being sent to customers.

Imagine, it is not even the holidays and Berbicians have been consuming a larger amount of electricity during the nights.

We have also become a nation whereby we love to adorn our homes, offices and buildings with numerous light bulbs here there and everywhere thus contributing to more energy wastage.

You pass any building at night and you see them illuminated bountifully — if they only know the large amount of current they are using up. We are very wasteful people and so we must pay the price, literally.

Guyana as a whole seems to be a very hungry nation for this precious commodity. We are the highest consuming nation of electricity in the Caribbean region!

Guyana — such a tiny country, with most of its population on the thin strip of coastland, with electricity rates so high, the cost of living higher, but we manage very well to consume large — very large amounts of electricity and thus giving ourselves that glorious title of highest consuming nation of electricity in the region.

The power utility company is practically begging us to switch off appliances, to conserve and to try to use less electricity — requests which seem kind of odd given the fact that they are the producer of this commodity.

But then it is very costly to produce too. With our dependency on oil to power up the large engines at the various power stations and only plans and dreams and hopes for hydro-electricity on stream, we are a nation headed for an energy crunch doomsday if we are not there already.

Skeldon seems to be sending some power to the National grid but not at full capacity as yet. Steam engines, etc are being used there to generate electricity.

Hopefully very soon Berbice will be sending out much power to the urban areas as well, after we have enough power here to satisfy the demand of course. That is the short-term solution. Rates will still be high and blackouts may still be prevalent.

Hydro plans are on the horizon and I believe they will pretty much remain there — a far distance away from realisation.

In the meantime, we will continue to make life in Guyana amidst these trying times when numerous blackouts aren’t making things any easier.

There will be sort of fair supply during the year, a spate of blackouts due to maintenance for Christmas coming on to September and October, a reliable and blackout- free Christmas (even though last year was not), and the beat goes on and on and on.

Please turn off your lights not in use; do not put too much lighting around your home, office and other buildings especially at nights; turn off appliances not in use and tell others to conserve electricity — something that we take very much for granted, until it is not there.
Leon Jameson Suseran

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