Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
Port Kaituma power outage…Inability to fund fuel for generators leaves community in darkness – Residents
The electricity woes for Port Kaituma, in Region One, continue. Residents have been without power since Wednesday because of lack of funding to purchase the needed fuel, according to frustrated residents.
The new generator powering Port Kaituma Community.
“Imagine there is a new generator up here, but the reason for the power outage is the inability to maintain the fuel consumption. In addition, there were no filters up here to service the Perkins generators. When there is need to do a mandatory 300 hours service there are no filters available.
“If the old filters are used they could damage the engine within months,” one mechanic noted.
When filters for the generator arrived a few days ago it was divulged that there was no money to buy fuel for the generator.
“The new generator is burning four drums of fuel on an eight-hour basis. For 24 hours its 12 drums of diesel and 12 drums of diesel in Port Kaituma cost $600,000. The amount of electricity being sold cannot generate the income to compensate for the fuel. There is need for expansion in the community for the generator to pay for its maintenance.”
It was also explained that there are two other generators, the 628 KVA and 500 KVA, which are under constant repairs. At present they are without the proper parts to have them up and running.
“The new engine came up to Port Kaituma two months ago and we are blaming the board members of Port Kaituma Power and Light for not highlighting the operation cost. It appears that because they were selected by the Government system they don’t want to report the bad news facing the operations of the company.
“Government should subsidise the operations until the community has expanded. We are not supporting privatization,” one official noted.
“Many fuel suppliers within the community are not giving more credit since they are owed millions of dollars.”
According to an official of the Port Kaituma Power and Light, tainted fuel is responsible for the two other generators going out of operation. However, the quality of fuel for the new generator has to be sourced from Guyoil or Georgetown since the new engine must be protected from being damaged.
“The power should be restored today. The system was tested by knowledgeable persons and it was shown to be stable,” the official said.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.