Latest update April 26th, 2026 12:45 AM
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GPL rations power as two Wartsila engines go down
With consumers’ patience wearing thin over an increase in outages in recent weeks, the state’s power company yesterday disclosed that it was forced to cut electricity to a number of communities when two engines went down over the weekend.
The load-shedding was expected to end yesterday.
The Guyana Power and Light (GPL), disclosed that on Sunday, two of its Wartsila engines – one at Garden of Eden and the other at Kingston, experienced mechanical difficulties.
Affected: The Public Accounts Committee, Parliament Building, adjourned its session yesterday because of the blackouts.
“The loss of this 11 MW capacity has occurred while planned overhaul of the No 2 unit (6.9 MW) at the new Kingston Plant is being done as scheduled. It resulted in a shortage of capacity to meet demand in the Demerara System. Therefore, emergency load shedding has been instituted throughout the Demerara System from (Sunday) last night, and is expected to continue until 1:00 pm yesterday when repairs to one of the units will be completed.
On Sunday night, villages stretching from Versailles to La Retraite were without power from 18:29hrs to 20:20hrs; Windsor Forest to Edinburg from 19:06hrs to 21:10hrs and the Sophia area from 18:35hrs to 21:05hrs.
Yesterday, consumers from Good Hope to Industry and in South and North Ruimveldt, Guyhoc Park, Tucville and Shirley Field Ridley Scheme were without power from after 08:00hrs as GPL carried out the load-shedding exercise.
Repairs to the second engine were expected to be completed by midnight yesterday.
GPL is currently carrying out a US$40M program to build new transmission lines on the coastlands along with seven sub-stations to manage the distribution.
Another US$26M is being spent to construct a new power station at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara to help boost power generation.
Yesterday, even the Parliament’s work was affected. Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Carl Greenidge, was forced to adjourn a sitting after workers were unable to start the generator.
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