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GPL records 29% in losses for 2016
…delay in metering programme among reasons cited
In 2016, the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) recorded combined losses of 29.2 per cent. This is according to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC)’s 2016 Annual Report.
GPL did not meet its target for reducing losses in 2016
According to the report, technical losses were 13 per cent and non-technical losses were 16.2 per cent. The PUC said that based on the final figures, GPL did not meet the standard set for 2016.
The PUC said that one of the reasons cited for the power company not meeting its target for non-technical losses was the company’s metering programme which did not commence in 2016 as scheduled. It was noted in the report that losses and the cost that attends them are significant, and GPL was urged that it needed to get its act together and work assiduously to reduce the losses.
The Commission said that GPL is examined annually on its Operating Standards and Performance Targets (OSPT). It noted that as it relates to customer interruptions, the target that was set for 2016 was 75. According to the PUC, this meant that on average, a GPL consumer should have experienced no more than 75 power outages for that year. However, at the end of 2016, the average was 118, a clear failure by GPL to meet its target.
The report said, “In recent years, GPL has not been achieving the set standard. While the Commission accepted some of GPL’s reasons for not meeting its targets in past years, the company is expected to be more attentive to factors within its control.”
Further, the report stated that the target set for 2016 was 90 hours, which meant that a consumer should have experienced 90 hours of outages in 2016. However, at the end of the year, the average duration was 125.8 hours. Again, the target was not met.
Concerning voltage regulation, GPL was required to maintain ± 5 per cent of nominal voltage in stable conditions and ± 10 per cent of nominal voltage after system disturbances.
“GPL, however, claimed that it is difficult to monitor the voltage delivered to each customer. While the Commission did not accept that the intention was to monitor the voltage supplied to each customer, it took into consideration that when this standard was introduced as a performance of indicator, the status of the company’s transmission and distribution networks may not have allowed it to measure this standard.”
In light of this, the PUC said that it expects that as GPL’s transmission and distribution networks are upgraded to acceptable levels, there will be a tangible effort for GPL to monitor and ensure that the correct voltage is supplied to customers.
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