There should be a COI on the spate of blackouts

Oct 27, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
Please allow me space to comment on some misguided information that has been printed in certain sections of the press and posted onto social media concerning the recent spate of power outages, which all seem to point in the direction of a Chinese contractor. The contractor in question is CMC a Chinese outfit that was awarded a contract to build seven new substations and to construct interlinking transmission lines. Recent articles seem to pinpoint a faulty line from Kingston to Sophia and a damaged submarine cable, as two of the main problems that contribute to the plague of blackouts recently.
Mr. Editor if I may offer some of my knowledge to shed some light on the issues. First, the line from Kingston to Sophia. This 69kv transmission line was not built by CMC; it was done by Cummings Electrical a few years ago, long before CMC came to Guyana. There were even some issues with the contract regarding the building of the said lines,that attracted the attention of the courts. Secondly, the submarine cable linking Vreed-en-Hoop to Kingston was buried according to specifications laid out in the contract between GPL and CMC. This cable was damaged by a dredge working in the area. Before jumping to conclusions the government has asked GPL for a report surrounding these outages, shouldn’t we wait for that report? I ask again why the attack on Chinese investors in Guyana. Shouldn’t these contracts be very clear in what is required of the contractors? What role do the consultants, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the donor agencies play? If not to monitor the execution of the works according to the contract document? These outages will be a common feature around the country because of aging infrastructure. Little to no maintenance has been done to networks across the country, even though several contracts have been tendered for but not awarded. Maybe a COI into the blackouts is what is needed as we await the “Good Life”
Michael Persaud

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