Latest update January 1st, 2025 1:00 AM
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Chinese company that bungled US$200M Skeldon plant given US$48M GPL contract
Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL)’s Executive yesterday underwent an
PUC members (head table in foreground) take questions from the media while GPL executives (at other table) follow the proceedings attentively
inaugural review of the company’s performance targets by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) which resulted in a fiery session between stakeholders and company officials.
It was pointed out by PUC Chairman Justice Prem Persaud that the review of the GPL’s performance targets included Consumer Interruptions (blackouts), meter reading, issuance of bills, accounts payable and receivable, as well as system losses.
Chief Executive Officer of the Power Company, Bharrat Dindyal, informed media operatives that it was the same Chinese company (China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) that constructed the Skeldon Sugar Factory, which was given the contract for the US$48M upgrade to the transmission.
It was explained, too, that as a result of the concessionary Chinese loan which has been given to the power company for the system upgrade, the tenders for the supply of the fibre optic cable had to be issued to Chinese bidders.
The US$200M factory which was constructed by the CNTIC has been plagued with problems ever since its construction started, and has had to halt operations on more than one occasion.
The problem-prone factory had reached a point where the former President Bharrat Jagdeo had pledged to personally get involved in fixing the facility. He had said that if the intervention failed, sugar would be dead, particularly in light of the European Union’s 36 percent cut in the price it pays to its former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific for the sweetener.
On the issue of blackouts, it was pointed out by one executive Elwood Marshall that while the company is still grappling with the issue of interruptions of power supply some progress has been made, and blamed some 40 per cent of the blackouts to ‘generators tripping.’
He said too that some of the more negligible reasons for power interruptions were related to weather and demand outstripping supply among others.
Marshall did point out that the generator sets used by the power company vary in age, with some as much as 25 years old, and as such, maintenance would also account for some of the power interruptions.
As it relates to the age-old problem of the power company for various reasons generating ‘estimated’ bills for consumers, Marshall asserted that the new fibre optic cable being installed by the power company as part of a US$48M upgrade to the system, will not reduce the instances.
He did note that the power company is exploring several options available and has experienced some success.
Marshall said that one area where there is a higher concentration of estimated bills would be that of the new housing schemes such as the one in Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
This stems from a logistical limbo where the company’s meter readers are dispatched at a time when more of the consumers would not be at home or where the meters are positioned making the reading difficult.
This has resulted in a number of consumers having their bills from the power company based on estimation.
He reiterated that the fibre optic cable despite its numerous advantages will not have an impact on the estimation of bills as it will not address the issue of remote meter reading.
The issue of voltage regulation by the power company also proved to be an intense talking point as stakeholders learnt that despite the set parameters there is no way that the power company can ascertain a fluctuation in voltage unless reported by customers.
CEO Bharrat Dindyal said that this phenomenon is almost undetectable even in the most advanced electrical systems in the world. He explained that the power company would be able to make a direct recording of the power/voltage output from a particular source, but cannot definitively determine the voltage at the consumer end.
The annual review was made mandatory of the power company following recent amendments to the legislation governing the entity.
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