BLACKOUTS ARE HERE TO STAY

Dec 29, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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There is a generation or two of Guyanese who have known blackouts. They grew up in the day when every other day there was at least eight hours of load shedding. On the other hand there is another generation of Guyanese, the younger generation, who grew up in an environment in which blackouts were almost non-existence and thus this sudden appearance, this year, of power cuts has proved uneasy for this generation.
Blackouts have not disappeared totally. With an interconnected system there is always the danger that there can be a domino effect whereby a technical problem occurring in one area can bring down the power in other areas.
Also with lines that have aged and in need of replacement, there will always be the excessive need for maintenance which can see large areas plunged into darkness. In addition, it is now obvious that there is increased power consumption in the country which means that more and more energy has to be generated to satisfy demand.
The situation today is a far improved situation than what existed years ago when there were daily eight hour blackouts.
One of the first priorities of the post 1992 government was power generation and it used the scare resources available at the time to install additional generation capacity with this assistance of the Wartsila company which has had a good track record in Guyana.
Over the past year, blackouts have returned. And this has created great unease within our society especially since the new generation simply did not know about these things and thus found these disruptions hard to accept.
Over the past month, the blackouts have eased but have not been eradicated. And with suspected generation losses in excess of 30 per cent, these blackouts are not likely to disappear in the near future. With the Kingston plant running at full capacity, there will most likely be a serious reduction in the number of power interruptions in the Demerara grid.
In Berbice, large parts of the Corentyne Coast are receiving regular power outages. But as soon as the inter connection system between Skeldon and Canje is completed, Berbicians should also witness a reduction in blackouts.
It is clear, though, that in the near future, the demand for power will outstrip what can be produced within the system and thus there is now an urgent need to look at increasing the generation capacity of the national system. This can only be achieved through the installation of increased fossil- burning generating sets which will have to be imported and installed.
The long-term solution would be to have increased generation through hydro electricity. But even to build a 100MW plant will take at the minimum in Guyana about eight years to complete and thus there is an immediate challenge for the government to examine short term solutions while it tries to find a long term solution to our power needs.
Part of the short term solution has to be the reduction of losses within the system. Ironically the reduction of these losses will entail extensive line maintenance which will result in periodic load-shedding since lines cannot be replaced while current is running through them.
The lines losses are too prohibitive and are contributed to by energy theft in Guyana. It is not a viable option for the GPL to be dragging persons before our courts for theft of electricity since this will demand a great deal of time and legal resources which the power company simply cannot afford.
And simply cutting off the electricity supply of those found stealing electricity has not proven totally effective since ingenuous ways have been found to reattach the severed lines when the disconnection crew departs.
The GPL therefore should seek to have legislation passed which would allow it to levy on moveable property for those who owe the corporation either for being indebted to the corporation or for being estimated for electricity theft. Only when the power company has the power to seize assets of those who owe electricity, only then will we see a reduction in electricity theft.
In the meantime, the power company should encourage consumers to conserve electricity. If ten per cent of power generated is saved through conservation, it can ensure that future blackouts are reduced even further.
And achieving a ten per cent reduction through conservation is not unrealistic since Guyanese have one of the highest high per capita rates of power consumption.
Such a reduction will also help to reduce the fuel import bill and thus lead to savings in foreign exchange.
But in the long run we could easily ensure that all our power needs in Guyana are provided by alternative energy sources thereby reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
Until we do this, no Guyanese should expect to not have blackouts. For unless we can have sufficient spare capacity to deal with increased demand for power, it is not likely that power cuts will ever end.

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