Latest update April 21st, 2025 5:30 AM
Latest News
- Documents for Wales Gas-to-Energy project will be made public when entire scheme is completed- VP Jagdeo
- President Ali should determine whether Ramson should be sacked for non-performance – Jagdeo
- 31 Palestinians killed by bombs yesterday across Gaza
- Linden youths killed by police laid to rest
- Biker killed in Essequibo crash
Guyanese left in dark for hours
…GPL blames battery failure at Kingston station
Kaieteur News- Guyanese across Demerara and Berbice were left in darkness for hours, following a massive power outage sparked by the malfunctioning of a battery at one of GPL’s key substations at Kingston, Georgetown.
A screengrab of GPL live streaming President Irfaan Ali’s announcement on Thursday morning
The disruption, which began around 05:47 am, drew sharp criticisms from citizens who took to social media to vent their outrage at the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL).
Many questioned the continued instability of the electricity grid and pointed out recent investments in powerships. “Still facing blackouts even with two powerships and ‘excess capacity’? Guyana Power & Light Inc. says the system is improved, but power cuts and damaging fluctuations continue,” one social media user posted.
Another said, “Guyanese deserve better, consistent electricity is not a luxury, it’s a right.” Another user expressed disbelief at the scale of the outage, stating: “Only last week GPL gave out 422 million US dollars in contracts, now there’s massive blackout, although millions are paid for two powerships… This is outrageous and bare incompetence and (expletive).”
One affected Kitty resident, 28-year-old Clive, said he lost five hours of paid online work due to the outage. “At around 5:47 a.m, while doing some online work for a company that is depending on me, blackout came. The light came on back in 20 minutes. Around 7:10 a.m, it came off again and did not come on back until 12:55 p.m,” he said.
President address
The blackout also affected access to an important national address by President Irfaan Ali, who announced a $10 billion initiative to help citizens who have fallen behind on their National Insurance Scheme (NIS) contributions. With Wi-Fi and electricity down in many areas, numerous citizens were unable to view the broadcast, which started around 9:49 a.m. Ironically, GPL streamed the announcement from their Facebook page. Subsequently, at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo did not hold back when asked about the blackout. “Well, I was very upset with them because they have power in their system… they told me that they had a problem at the Kingston substation and some issues with the battery there,” Jagdeo said.
He added, “It has nothing to do with the availability of power… but they developed a problem in the system today.”
GPL later issued a press release confirming the cause of the outage. GPL said, “With the addition of the second powership generating 60 MWs, GPL’s transmission and distribution system has remained relatively stable, aside from a few minor network issues.” According to the company, a fault at the Kingston Power Plant led to a cascading shutdown across the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS). The fault was traced to a failure in the Direct Power Control System on the Busbar, which affected multiple feeders, generators, and a key transformer. The utility company noted that restoration efforts began at the Garden of Eden location, and replacement components are now being secured. “An investigation found damaged components at the Kingston Plant, and immediate efforts are being made to secure and install replacements. Further investigation and analyses are being carried out. Our company remains cognizant of the inconveniences associated with unplanned service interruptions and continues to work assiduously to prevent these occurrences,” the agency said.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Greater Civilian Involvement in the Guyana Police Force
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is in the throes of a chronic manpower crisis. It is no secret... more
Weekend Cartoon
