GPL not responsible for many electrical fires

May 03, 2009 News

Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of fires across the country. Some of them have been blamed on electrical problems. In most cases, persons have reported seeing wires sparking on an electrical post, and arrive to the conclusion that the fire was caused by a GPL problem.

However, it was explained that this is not the case, as GPL is not at fault for these fires most of the time.

Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Bharat Dindyal, explained that when a wire sparks outside the house, it is systematic of a problem inside the house and not a GPL problem.

According to Dindyal, in some homes there are PVC insulated cables that are commonly used, so if a fire starts in the house and the cable starts to burn, eventually there is a short circuit, which, he said, creates conditions for high voltage to exist in the area. In this case, there might be between 30 and 60 consumers connected to one network to one transformer.

“So there is a fault in the house and the breaker doesn’t work and if you have a very large wire or fuse, whatever happens in your house is reflective to others who are connected. A huge current then flows in that connection back to the transformer and that’s where the sparks happens,” Dindyal said.

He also noted that some consumers have reported seeing fire running on the wires in the house. “Now when the PVC wire is short circuited, there is an extremely large current that flows there and of course the PVC overheats, and catches afire simultaneously. There are cases where consumers have been complaining that the wires are sparking regularly and we tell consumers that it is reflective of a problem in the house,” the CEO said.

As it relates to persons seeking compensation from GPL when the power company damages equipment due to an electrical problem, it was noted that GPL has an established process for people who make claims.

The process requires the claimant to have a contract with GPL and must have a record of a fault occurring in the area from where the claim is being made.

“Essentially what happens, if there is a fault in the area, people would call and report it. On that basis, we process the application… we have been making awards to consumers on settling with them when the company’s supply is found to be at fault.”

Thus far, no one has sought compensation from GPL for damages incurred due to the recent oil spill in Kingston, although some persons have said that they have lost business.

But according to Dindyal, damage has been found to be minimal. Nevertheless, GPL has assisted in cleaning some yards and drains in the community.