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Two 8-megawatt generators arrive
Workers will have a logistical nightmare on Sunday to move this massive 165-ton Wartsila engine from John Fernandes Wharf on Water Street to the power station at Kingston.
– cost US$18.3M
By Leonard Gildarie
Two Wartsila engines, costing US$18.3M, and which authorities hope will reduce the current spate of power outages being experienced, yesterday landed in Guyana.
But government officials are warning that despite the addition of the crucial 15.6 megawatts (mw) by August, things will remain “tight” until the middle of next year.
Already, six Caterpillar generating sets, which will boost the capacity of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) by 10 mw, have been ordered.
Several GPL officials, including Chief Executive Officer, Bharrat Dindyal; his deputy, Ash Deonarine and Colin Singh, Operations Director, accompanied Energy Minister, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, to witness the off-loading of the two engines at the John Fernandes Wharf, Water Street.
Workers will now have a logistical nightmare on their hands to move the engines to Kingston where they will be housed in facilities currently under construction.
According to Dindyal, because of the size and weight of the equipment, several roads will have to be cleared on Sunday and special metal placed over bridges to prevent damage, while transporting the engines.
Each engine is estimated to weigh in excess of 165 tonnes, about 120 tonnes more than what the bridges are usually exposed to. Special equipment and trucks were brought in to handle the logistics, he disclosed.
The PM was upbeat on the engines’ arrival on board the BSC Austria, noting that current engines of Wartsila are undergoing critical maintenance and service.
The two engines will bring the number of Wartsila generators to 15…two of them are in Anna Regina.
Government is hoping that the installation of the engines could be completed for commissioning before an August 31 deadline.
However, he warned, things will remain tight until next year with other works, including conversion of generating sets from 50 to 60 cycle, underway.
Wartsila, a Finnish company known for building marine engines, has been in Guyana since the 1990s and contracted to maintain and operate the engines.
PM Hinds was confident that the engines could last for as long as 30 years, once properly maintained.
While Guyana would like to have extra capacity to ensure continued supply in case of scheduled maintenance and breakdowns, unlike Suriname and other countries, the problem is available money to finance this kind of project, the government official said.
Demand has been growing from new housing schemes and additional equipment like air condition units.
It is now estimated that at least 10 mw of needed power have to be added to the system to meet rising demands, Hinds revealed.
Taking a knock on critics of GPL who would have been calling for privatization of the state-owned company, the PM argued that government, as a shareholder, has been foregoing its dividends, and making loans and other investments to ensure tariffs are kept low.
Questioned about commercial and technical losses, a major thorn in the side of GPL for years now, the PM insisted that it is estimated that one in every four Guyanese is stealing electricity.
This exists although harsh laws were passed last year.
To reduce technical losses, which comes from faulty transmission lines, among other things, GPL is moving ahead with a major US$40M project, funded by the Chinese, to build new transmission lines and several sub-stations across the country.
But the theft is also worrying the GPL’s CEO. According to him, 700 persons and businesses are before the courts.
Last year, GPL for the first time brought down their commercial losses by 3% to below 30%.
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