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Thefts, technical losses down
– GPL tells regulators
State-owned Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), under fire for not doing enough to bring down losses from
GPL’s CEO, Bharat Dindyal
thefts and technical issues, says that it made some progress last year.
Officials appeared on Tuesday before the regulatory body, Public Utility Commission (PUC) to testify of its efforts to meet annual targets.
According to figures provided by GPL’s officials at the public hearings held at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, GPL managed to reduce technical losses by a full one percent from 14.4 percent.
The non-technical losses, mostly thefts by consumers, which have been a major headache for GPL, were targeted at 16.5 percent last year. The power company managed 15.3 percent.
This meant that overall losses fell to 28.7 percent from the 30.9 percent.
The losses are significant for consumers as they are the ones who ultimately pay for them.
Present at the hearing for GPL were Chief Executive Officer, Bharat Dindyal, and Deputy CEO, Ash Deonarine, among others.
Chairing the proceedings was PUC’s Chairman, Justice Prem Persaud. Also present were Secretary and Legal Officer, Vidiahar Persaud, and commissioners, Maurice Solomon and Mursalin Sankar.
Before the end of March, the Commission is mandated to review GPL’s performance for the previous year to determine whether it has met the targets set.
The Commission is required to review eight operating standards. Among them
The power company says its losses from theft and leakages decreased last year.
are Customer Interruptions (outages), Voltage Regulations, Actual Meter Readings of Maximum Demand and Non Maximum Demand Consumers, Issuing of Maximum and Non Maximum Demand Bills, Accounts Receivable, System Losses, and Average Availability.
The Commission is required to make a determination, based on GPL’s explanations, whether failure to meet the standards was due to circumstances beyond the control of the company or was as a result of policies not consistent with accepted best practices. If it is the latter, the Commission may, under the powers granted it by the licence, levy a fine on the company.
GPL has commissioned a critical US$40M-plus project that included new transmission lines and seven sub-stations along the coasts to help reduce leakages and improve efficiency.
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