Sacked GPL boss to get $15M payout

Sep 10, 2016 News

More than six month after he was sacked, former chief of the state-owned Guyana Power and Light Inc.

Former GPL head,
Colin Welch

(GPL), Colin Welch, has been approved for a multimillion-dollar payout.
GPL officials yesterday confirmed that its Board of Directors this week approved around $15M that Welch was said to be entitled to under his contract.
Welch was let go back in February after a new Board of Directors, chaired by businessman Robert Badal, decided that they had lost faith in him.
Reliable GPL sources confirmed that under Welch’s contract, he was entitled to certain conditions, including a few months’ pay in case his services were brought to an end.
It was not a case of negotiation, but rather what Welch was entitled to, the GPL officials said.
Welch had been appointed to act as the company’s head in August last year, but his tenure was rocky, with several clashes with GPL’s management. There were questions also about his qualifications.
Following the appointment of a new Board of Directors for GPL in January, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, who is charged with responsibilities for the electricity sector, had made it clear that issues and questions of Welch would be dealt with.
Senior GPL officials in February met with Board officials to complain about Welch.
GPL is currently searching for a new chief, with Mr. Renford Homer currently acting as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
GPL is facing major challenges, including technical and commercial losses which amount to over 29 percent.

GPL Chairman, Robert Badal

As part of its programme to reduce losses, the entity has embarked on a number of projects, including replacing its transmission lines on the coast.
A US$40M-plus project has been completed for a new 69Kv transmission line running from West Bank Demerara to Corentyne, Berbice. It includes submarine cables across the Demerara and Berbice River. That project also included the construction of seven sub-stations.
However, GPL is currently dogged by technical issues after the submarine cable across the Demerara River was badly damaged, leaving the Demerara grid without the luxury of extra power from the new 26 megawatts Wartsila power station at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Bank Demerara.

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