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Demerara, Berbice brace for week of blackout

Sep 23, 2014 News

– after Skeldon estate strike

Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) says that it has been forced to institute scheduled load shedding as a result of the failure of the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s (GuySuCo) Skeldon Sugar Factory’s cogeneration plant.
This plant supplies the grid with electricity. There was also the failure of a turbo charger at one of the GPL Warstila plants in Kingston.
According to the power company, its generation capacity in the Demerara and Berbice Integrated Systems (DBIS) has been significantly reduced since Sunday, due to a shortfall in expected imported energy from GuySuCo, Skeldon, and the failure of the turbo charger on GPL’s No.3 Wartsila set located at Kingston, Georgetown.
According to the power company, it is unfortunate that the two incidents arose at a time when the No.1 Wartsila generator at the Kingston-1 plant, is undergoing a major overhaul.
According to the power company, GuySuCo is unable to supply energy to the grid because of industrial action at its Skeldon factory.
“It is uncertain when GuySuCo, Skeldon operations will return to normalcy.”
There were reports that the industrial action at GuySuCo’s Skeldon plant stemmed from an altercation between an intoxicated manager and some employees.
The sugar company has since sought to refute this. It is contrary to the Union’s allegation. The Estate Manager in his usual night visits to the factory and mill dock met a group of workers including one Steven Daniels. They were malingering in the vicinity of the mill dock and the manager cautioned them to report to their respective work stations.
GuySuCo in a public missive yesterday, stated that on being cautioned by the Manager, Daniels became abusive and was calmly advised by the Manager to heed his advice and report to his work station.
“Daniels subsequently retaliated and approached the Estate Manager in a hostile manner, and in the process struck the Manager in his face…The incident was witnessed by the Agriculture Manager and a Supernumerary Constable, all of whom testified that the Estate Manager was not intoxicated nor was he aggressive and abusive to Daniels.”
The sugar corporation is insisting that Daniels’s behaviour is recognized by the Corporation as one that constitutes gross misconduct, and such behaviour is treated with summary dismissal; as a consequence Daniels was summarily dismissed last Saturday.
The company said that on Saturday evening a cane harvesting representative at the entrance to the factory compound where night shift mechanical harvester operators and Bell Loader operators assemble before they proceed to work, incited the workers to take industrial action to protest Daniels’s dismissal.
“On Sunday night approximately 34 hectares of un-ripened canes was burnt, suspected to be a case of arson as a form of retaliation to Daniels’s dismissal.”
Meanwhile the power company has said that in the interim,   the replacement component for the turbo charger is expected to arrive Thursday night, and the machine will return to operation on Friday.
The No. 1 Diesel Generator at the Kingston 1 Plant is on schedule to return to service on Sunday.
Consequently, GPL was forced to load shed in Demerara and Berbice since Sunday evening.
The power company is adamant that the scheduled outages may be significantly reduced if GuySuCo’s industrial action is resolved.

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