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GPL engages Berbicians in Network Rehabilitation Project meetings
L to R: Mr. Sharma ; Mr. Cush, Technical Consultant and GPL Berbice Manager, Mr. Bacchus
The Guyana Power & Light Inc (GPL) held a series of community meetings over the weekend in Berbice to educate customers about the upcoming Network Rehabilitation Project. The meetings, which were held at Lochaber and Cumberland, entertained questions from customers on aspects of their electricity services.
Speaking with Kaieteur News after the Cumberland meeting, Mr. Kumar Sharma, Director of Loss Reduction, stated that the project is part of a $5M loan from the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), which seeks to build capacity and energy conservation, rehabilitate the low voltage distribution network and commercial loss reduction actions.
This new distribution system is designed to reduce losses by the company due to illegal connections and substandard network, and to enable customers to become more energy conscious through the use of the Pre-paid Metering System.
The new system will be implemented in 18 other communities: La Grange, Canal Number Two, East La Penitence, North East La Penitence, Mon Repos, Enmore, Victoria and Helena in Region Four, Windsor Forest in Region Three, Now or Never, Cotton Tree and Rosignol Housing Scheme in Region Five and Edinburg, Lochaber, Canje, Rose Hall, Miss Phoebe Port Mourant and Springlands in Region Six.
According to Sharma, GPL is introducing a social management programme component, which means that the company has to engage the communities, “so we come in and meet with them and see how it will affect them during construction and after construction.”
Sharma stated that after the project would have been completed, the company will return to do an evaluation.
There are two parts to the programme, he stated. There are close to 100 areas that may need upgrading, “because of the increase in the number of customers in those areas and quality of lives—people are using more ACs [air conditioners] and stereos, the network cannot handle the load and customers may be affected by low voltage, etc, so this programme consists of going into the communities and re-designing the entire network.”
The programme will begin in Berbice within the next two months and be completed before the end of the year.
Customers, he stated, will be affected with power outages, but these will be done in isolation, meaning that small areas within villages will experience blackouts for 12- hour periods (or less), perhaps once or twice per week.
“At the end of the day, they will be re-connected, so it will be a phased process and every day a different set of customers will be affected but the end result will be that they will be getting a better quality and service.”
Also present at the meetings were GPL Berbice Operations Manager, Mr. Ayube Bacchus, Technical Consultant, Mr. Cush; and Mr. Mark Ross, Social Coordinating Officer.
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