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Govt. considering use of containerized gas to power Bartica, Essequibo, Linden and Lethem – Jagdeo
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana is considering the use of containerized gas to power Bartica, Essequibo, Linden and Lethem. This was revealed by Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday at his weekly press conference held at the Office of the President.
While giving an update on projects that were on the drawing board, to address electricity and the upgrading of the grid to facilitate the Gas-to-Energy project when it comes on-stream, Jagdeo said that, “We are exploring using some of the gas to move (gas) turbines into Bartica, Essequibo Coast, Lethem, Linden. So eventually if it’s technically feasible we have some good price offers.”
The plan is to take the gas from the pipeline and containerize once it is proven feasible to do so, so that it can be available for use in the gas turbines that would be installed.
“We don’t know if it’s technically feasible as yet, to take the power off the pipeline and containerize them and move them into these areas so we can supply these areas that are not connected with the Demerara Berbice Grid that weather we can supply those areas using gas as a fuel, because even when we complete this project we still have to supply those areas with to ‘bunker C’ or find other sources,” the VP explained.
Additionally, since Linden is off the grid currently the government is “thinking about eventually moving a transmission main up there which is going to be costly and then power the highway from there (Linden). But we have now looked at taking a big new transmission main up to Berbice so they are on the drawing board for that one too.”
Further, the government will be moving to parliament before the recess to have a supplementary of US$66M approved for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to be able to subsidize electricity.
The VP said that on Wednesday, he was informed that there is a need for US$66M as what the GPL budgeted for did not cater for the fuel price increases.
“But we are not increasing the price of electricity… in another country they would have increased the price of electricity. So that means before the end of the year, we’ll go to Parliament for a supplementary of US$66M for just subsidizing electricity,” he added.
It important to note that more than 16,000 Americans have written to the Chair of the United States Export-Import Bank (US-EXIM), Reta Jo Lewis demanding the financial institution not to fund the controversial Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project being pursued by the Government of Guyana (GoG).
Since April 2023, it was revealed that Guyana applied to the US EXIM Bank for a US$646M loan to support the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility and the 300-megawatt gas-fired power plant- two components of the venture. To date, the application has not been approved. According to a letter from 16,452 members of Friends of the Earth United States, a non-governmental organization, the project is both a disaster for Guyana and the climate.
However, the VP at his June 6 press conference said that the Government of Guyana will build the Gas to Shore project with or without the approval of the loan it applied for from the United States Export Import Bank (US EXIM Bank).
The VP was asked by the media to give an update on the current state of the talks in relation to the loan’s approval and at which stage it was at currently. He said that the issue was being dealt with by the Guyana embassy in the U.S.
Jagdeo explained that, “The last report I got from Ashni Singh they have been dealing with this from our Embassy there is that it’s being prepared at the technical level. They came they did the environmental assessment on their own so that was a good thing that they came because of the attempt by these local people linking up with foreign NGO’s to try to block it.”
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