GPL suffers $40 million in losses

Jan 24, 2009 News

…contaminated fuel the cause

The Guyana Power and Light sustained some $40 million in losses over the past two weeks when it tried to ship fuel to the Anna Regina power station.

The first shipment of fuel, some 75,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, was shipped to the Essequibo Coast via a vessel operated by BK International. However, it turned out that the fuel was contaminated, but the operators were not aware until they tried to use it in the turbines.

Nearly three dozen injectors and pump elements were damaged, plunging the Coast into periods of prolonged blackouts. By the time the problem was discovered, the damage had been done, according to a GPL official on the Essequibo Coast.

The repairs were costly and took more than a week. One engineer said that each pump element cost some US$1,000. The injectors also cost a tidy sum. By the time the turbine became operational, GPL was forced to spend some $8 million.

A source said that the remainder of the fuel had to be returned to the city and disposed of. The cost of that shipment of fuel was some $20 million.

The power company undertook to ship a replacement of 75,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil to the Essequibo Coast; but when the vessel landed, it was found that that shipment was also contaminated. Inspection revealed that it had some six per cent of sea water. The loss was a further $20 million.

The vessel was once more returned to the city with the contaminated fuel, and up to this week, it was moored at a city wharf with the fuel inside. The power company was reportedly hard pressed to find a suitable place to dispose of the fuel.

The vessel that transported the fuel was found to be faulty. It had been deemed unfit by the Trinidad authorities and was not certified to operate in those waters.

The original contract to transport the fuel was entered into with one Winston Rambarran, but for reasons not clear at this time, Mr Rambarran passed the contract to BK International.

No official was available to comment, and the staff at the Anna Regina facility referred all queries to the city officials.