Poor Power Planning (PPP)

Nov 14, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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…Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News- Planning has long been the PPP/C government’s pride and joy. The PPP/C touts it at rallies, in press releases, and on the lips of its ministers. It’s the crown jewel of policy, the steady hand on the wheel, and the hallmark of a future-proofed nation.

But a series of events has revealed an uncomfortable truth. For all the PPP/C’s posturing and projections, the planning machine has serious kinks in its gears. The most glaring evidence of this comes in the form of electricity—specifically, the fact that the country is once again relying on a foreign power ship to fill a critical energy gap.

If power were a mere convenience, this predicament might be forgiven. But energy, as everyone knows, is the lifeblood of industry, development, and everyday life. It is the invisible force that keeps factories humming, homes lit, and the machinery of society in motion.

And yet, here we were earlier this year facing an energy-shortfall-induced blackout streak along the coast. The spate of blackouts was arrested only by bringing in a stopgap solution in the form of an expensive Turkish power ship. The irony is as thick as the humid, dark nights of power outages. A government, eager to praise itself for “planning prowess,” has fallen into the very trap that true planners avoid. It failed to see far enough ahead.

This isn’t the first time the government has had to go out on a limb to avoid an energy crisis. One would expect that after a near miss—or several—steps would be taken to avoid a repeat. Lessons are supposed to be learned, contingencies put in place. The sight of officials in negotiations over another 75 megawatts of imported electricity would suggest otherwise. It’s not only the capacity that’s lacking here but also the foresight. One can’t help but wonder if those at the helm are as surprised as the rest of us when these deficits arise.

Planning requires both vision and execution. But when it comes to the present government, both seem to have taken a back seat to other ventures, most notably the ambitious gas-to-shore project. This venture, heralded as the great hope for sustainable energy independence, has consumed money, time and attention. And rightly so perhaps! But while energy initiatives are essential for the long-term, they must not come at the expense of present needs.

And what is the present need? Quite simply, enough power to keep the country running. The adage “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” comes to mind, and the government appears to have chased the two birds without securing the one in its grasp.

More troubling still is the fact that this stopgap electricity is expensive. This is no negligible factor; the additional 75 MW, secured at a considerable tariff. The GPL will have to distribute this power using its aged and rickety transmission lines.  And while short-term arrangements are understandable, it’s hard to escape the notion that reliance on high-cost emergency measures points to deeper flaws in the planning process.

One cannot help but recall the ill-fated Skeldon Sugar Factory—a grand project marred by mechanical missteps and lackluster output, resulting in more headaches than harvests. The gas-to-shore project looms with a similar grandeur, a promise that demands impeccable planning and execution if it’s to avoid the same fate. There is hope, yes, that it will deliver the bounty of energy independence. But hope alone cannot keep a city alight, nor can it prevent the nation from plunging into future blackouts if the next plan is no more than a patchwork of short-term fixes.

It’s not just a question of resource allocation or budgetary constraints; it’s about a commitment to an adaptable and resilient energy strategy, one that sees beyond the political cycle and into the heart of what citizens need. Sound planning, as any engineer or economist will tell you, doesn’t only focus on the horizon. It fortifies what’s close at hand. It ensures that the nation can keep moving forward without being tripped by the inevitable unknowns that litter the path ahead. So, as the lights flicker on along the coast, powered by a ship from half a world away, one wonders what lesson the government has learned. Are they already thinking ahead to the next crisis, or is there an unspoken acceptance that they can always summon another power ship, regardless of the cost of doing so?

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)  

(Poor Power Planning (PPP))

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• GPL, Peeping Tom, PPP/C governments, press releases, stopgap electricity

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