Berbice blackouts due to maintenance on transmission lines, faulty transformer – GPL

Aug 09, 2012 News

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By Leon Suseran

Guyana Power & Light Inc. (GPL) has informed Berbicians that annual maintenance works on two of their main transmission lines (from Onverwagt in the West to Canefield and the other from Canefield to Number 53 Village) and problems being encountered with a transmission transformer at the Canefield Power Station, have resulted in the recent spate of power outages.
Berbice has been experiencing short, but frequent power outages during all times of the day and night for weeks now and the GPL Regional Manager, Ayube Bacchus, explained the causes.

Bacchus explained that the outages would not last very long, since the ‘spurious trips’ are relatively short-lived and the generators are powered back up within half an hour. However, the far-flung areas, like Upper Corentyne and Crabwood Creek, located very far away from the power stations, are at a disadvantage and their power would take longer to come on back.
“We were forced to move one of our feeder lines from Canefield to Number 53— that’s a very long line and heavily- loaded— and that is our link between 53 and the Corriverton area and Canefield,” he stated.
As a result of the two main transmission lines being taken down for maintenance, the interconnectivity that the Berbice grid once enjoyed between the Onverwagt and Canefield Power Stations (to share power as needed) is no longer there.
“The generators would trip whenever severe load comes on the system, and coupled with the limitations of the F3 Feeder, we have these trips from time to time and it takes a longer time to re-power back the system. The F3 is a very heavily- loaded feeder and it takes about one and a half hours to two hours to reach the Corriverton customers, especially Moleson Creek.”
“We intend to put back the two lines sometime in the next week so that we can provide a better service. The company notes the inconvenience to customers, but we assure them that the situation will turn for the best and not the worst, and we are working towards that to improve the reliability in supply in the Berbice area, by putting back the two lines and transformers.”
“Transmission lines enable us to move power very quickly from one location to another, and shift large power, and therefore power back consumers in a very short period of time. But with this present scenario, it takes a little bit longer, as much as 2 hours, but we have everything under control, and the public should not panic.”
Bacchus dispelled rumours of a generation shortfall.
It was pointed out that the power company’s work is being made more difficult by frequent inclement weather.
The Area Manager emphasised that the weather has a very significant effect on the transmission and distribution systems of GPL. “There are times when lightning strikes bring our systems down and when heavy wind does that also. Trees and branches are blown and get on the power lines and trip us out”.
He added that if it were not for certain protection systems in its transmission network, the company would suffer lots of damage and financial losses.
“Once there is a problem out there, our protection takes that area out and separates it. Those protection systems are our eyes and ears out there. We don’t know what’s happening out there and those systems would alert us and tell us there are problems.”
Bacchus said, too, that many blackouts being experienced in Berbice are duplications of problems being experienced by faults in the feeders. “We’re not saying it’s an excuse, but it makes our work difficult.”
ANGOY’S AVENUE INJUNCTION
Bacchus recently visited Angoy’s Avenue in New Amsterdam, a squatting district, which has not yet been connected to the GPL grid in Berbice due to an injunction filed a few years ago by the New Haven Co-op Society in the High Court, preventing the government from going into the area to put in place more developments. The Area Manager asserted that “until the injunction has been discharged we are in a difficult situation to go in and provide power in there”.
One of the challenges, too, he noted, is that the GPL network is already in Angoy’s Avenue, “and some people, prior to this problem, who were there before, got power, because the network was there and they benefited from that, but with the new arrangement (the injunction), they have to show proof of legal ownership and it puts us (GPL) in a very difficult situation”.
GPL, is willing he said, to go into the district to provide electricity, “even though GPL is being viewed as the bad-guy we are not the bad people… we are willing to provide the power in there, provided they (the residents) meet the requirements of what the company’s policies are”.
“I am optimistic that the issue will be resolved. It’s only a matter of time before the people will be able to enjoy a basic supply of electricity.”
The area has seen a spike in population over recent years, even as many persons steal electricity and run illegal power connections.

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