Second powership switched on

Dec 24, 2024 News

Kaieteur News- The 60 megawatt (MW) powership on Monday has begun supplying electricity to the national grid, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar has said.

Indar said the powership began producing power to be added to the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) grid at about 09:47h. The minister highlighted that the installation of the second powership, docked at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) at Ruimveldt, Georgetown was not without its challenges.

The 60 Megawatts powership

He explained those challenges to be, “pile-driving for mooring and wharf facilities to accommodate the vessel, building of a temporary access road, and installation of 3.9km (Kilometer) of 69kV high-power transmission lines through communities and over highways. These steel structures although seen in developed countries are now being used in Guyana.”

Despite these hurdles, the team consisting of GPL, the contractor Kalpataru Projects International Ltd (KPIL), and other agencies completed the complex work in under six weeks, Indar said.

Hes said that the new base-load generating facility will boost GPL’s capacity to 265 MW, which is sufficient to meet the peak demand of 195MW expected during the holiday season. “I commend the tireless efforts of the teams at GPL and the contractor (Kalpataru Projects International Ltd) who worked to deliver the PPP/C Government’s promise to supplement the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) with new base-load generating capacity.”

Prime Minister Mark Phillips visited the site on Sunday, offering praise for the swift and efficient progress of the project. He expressed confidence in GPL’s ability to manage the additional power from the powership, noting that senior personnel with prior experience managing a similar 36MW setup in Berbice would continue overseeing operations.

This project was initiated in response to the persistent power shortages experienced by Guyanese, with daily blackouts forcing the government to rent two powerships to ensure a steady electricity supply. The agreement to rent a second powership was officially signed on November 13, 2024. GPL’s head, Nandlall, signed the contract with the Managing Director of the Americas, UCC Holdings, Mr. Neto.

This second powership is being rented from the same company that leased the first one for a period of two years. That contract was signed between the GPL Inc. and UCI, a subsidiary of UCC Holdings, a company incorporated in the State of Qatar.

UCC Holdings reportedly has a strategic alliance with Karpowership International, a Turkish company. That deal is for some 36 megawatts of power. Karpowership arrived in May and was set up at Everton, Berbice, Region Six. For the first vessel, Guyana had to pay a mobilization fee of US$1M to get the ship here and the contract, according to GPL, includes the provision of operation and maintenance services as part of the agreement. The utility company had said then, “the contract requires GPL to pay UCI a fee of 6.62 US cents per kWh as a monthly charter fee for the powership and a monthly operation and maintenance fee of 0.98 US cents per kWh, based on electricity generated.”

(Second powership switched on)

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