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Second excavator strike in four days disrupts GPL network in Region Two
(Kaieteur News) – The Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) network in Hampton Court Village, Region Two, was damaged Thursday morning after an excavator struck critical infrastructure, marking the second such incident this week.
GPL said the disruption occurred around 10:10hrs and resulted in a power outage affecting a large number of customers across the region.
Following an assessment, GPL’s technical teams confirmed that the excavator damaged key sections of the network, triggering the interruption to electricity supply. The operator reportedly fled the scene before GPL personnel arrived.
Investigation conducted thus far has identified the owner of the equipment as Mr. Jared Lawrie of Wild Oats Civil and Mechanical Engineering, the power company said.
The excavator entangled with the GPL transmission line.
Immediately after the interruption repowering efforts commenced, and the teams worked to safely restore the electricity supply to customers. Restoration progressed steadily until all affected customers were repowered successfully at approximately 11:06hrs, GPL noted in the statement.
The company has also launched a formal investigation into the matter to be able to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the damage to the network. In addition, a report had been made to the relevant police station and the parties responsible will be prosecuted to the law’s fullest extent for the damage caused to the company’s infrastructure, according to GPL.
“GPL wishes to remind contractors and members of the public that any construction, excavation or heavy-duty operations near to the company’s transmission and distribution infrastructure, must be coordinated with GPL so that safety can be ensured and the reliability of the grid can be protected.
Unauthorised or unsafe activities near GPL’s infrastructure can result in service disruptions, damage to critical assets and pose serious risks to public safety. GPL apologises for the inconvenience caused and thanks customers for their patience and understanding during the restoration process,” the company added.
The power company in recent times has been hit with a series of disruptions caused by excavator and trucks working on road projects coming into contact with transmission lines.
Only on May 19, this publication reported that the L1 transmission line was damaged by an excavator operator, resulting in power outage in sections of the country, spanning two counties.
In a statement to the media then the company said that around 10:17hrs, the L1 transmission which interconnects the Garden of Eden and Grove substations, experienced a system disturbance.
“The disturbance resulted in the Garden of Eden and Grove substations going offline, creating an estimated 37-megawatt deficit on the network. This led to widespread service interruptions across sections of Demerara and Berbice, leaving thousands of customers without electricity supply,” GPL said.
An inspection done by the company’s technical teams revealed that an excavator operating at Grove, East Bank Demerara, had come into contact with the line, therefore causing damage to critical transmission infrastructure and triggering the disturbance.
The excavator involved is reportedly owned by S. Joseph Transportation & Machinery Rentals and was being operated by Mr. Garfield Hinds at the time of the incident.
The power company later demanded $8,059,361 in damages from the contractor.
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