Latest update January 13th, 2025 2:25 AM
GPL eyes June deadline for completion of US$42.8M system upgrade
The Guyana Power and Light Inc’s (GPL) US$42.8M Infrastructure Development Project is in its final stages and is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.
The project includes the construction of seven new 69 and 13.8 Kilo Volts (kV) Sub Stations, approximately 96 Kilometers (km) of 69 kV overhead Transmission Lines, the upgrade and expansion of three existing Sub stations and the construction of a Fiber Optic Network Linking all Sub Stations from Skeldon in the East, Edinburgh in the West and Garden of Eden in the South to a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system at a New Control Centre at Sophia.
GPL eyes June deadline for completion of US$42.8M system upgrade.
In providing a detailed report yesterday, the power company said that the substation at Columbia, Mahaicony is approximately 82 per cent complete and is scheduled to be completed at the end of the month.
The New Georgetown Substation under construction at North Ruimveldt is approximately 88 per cent complete.
The Power Company said that this too is scheduled to be completed by month end.
The upgraded Onverwagt Substation at West Coast Berbice is approximately 60 per cent complete and the final substation at Golden Grove/Diamond is approximately 50 per cent completed and is projected to be finished by the end of June.
According to GPL, December 2012, the first priority works on the West Demerara were completed and commissioned.
Those works were namely, the expansion of the Kingston 69 kV substation, the installation of a 69 kV submarine cable across the Demerara River from Kingston to Vreed-en-Hoop, construction of two new substations at Vreed-en-Hoop and Edinburgh, and construction of a 14km, 69 kV transmission line linking the two new substations.
In August 2013 the existing Sophia Substation upgrade was completed
A new Sophia 69 kV Substation and Control Center and interconnection of New Sophia and Existing Sophia upgrade were completed at the end in September 2013, but according to the Power Company, this will not be fully functional until the entire project is completed.,
The Good Hope Substation and the 10km, 69kV transmission line from New Sophia substation to Good Hope Substation were also completed at that time.
The power company said that in October 2013 the construction of a 27km 69kV transmission line was completed and the construction of a 37 km 69kV transmission line was completed last month.
The US$42.8M system upgrade is being done through a collaborative approach with the Guyana Government and the China Export Import (EXIM) Bank, through a concessionary loan of US$38.963 which is supplemented by US$3.9million from GPL’s revenue for preparatory works, including route clearing, site preparation and backfilling to above 2005 flood levels.
The power company said the Transmission Lines and Substations will serve to integrate major load centres along the coast, and will provide the capability to move bulk power from large, efficient, heavy fuel oil fired generating plants in Demerara and Berbice to those load centres.
Additionally, 26 new 13.8 kV primary distribution feeder outlets at the various substations will allow existing long, overloaded feeders, especially on the East and West Coast Demerara, to be segmented into shorter, more lightly loaded sections.
“These developments will result in improved quality of supply, system stability, improved voltage regulation, and reduction of technical losses…They will also prepare the system to accept and distribute power from the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project.”
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