Govt. silent on demand for millions more by powership company

Jun 03, 2026 News

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…as blackouts increase across Guyana

(Kaieteur News) – Top government officials, including President Irfaan Ali, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar have gone silent on the exorbitant demands by Karpowership, the Turkish company that was hired to supply electricity for the nation through two powerships.

Leaked information obtained by this newspaper from credible sources indicates that the company demanded an additional $3.4M more daily from government to continue providing 36-megawatts (MW) of power from the vessel stationed in the Berbice River.

Karpowership originally agreed to supply 36-MW at US$0.076 per Kilowatt (KW).

It is now demanding US$0.095/KW- the same rate Guyana is currently paying for the second power ship, stationed in the Demerara River. That vessel provides 60-MW of electricity to the national grid.

This means that the company is demanding an additional US$15,760 or G$3.4M per day under the new rates.

On Tuesday, the finance minister was asked about the status of the negotiations with the foreign company at the sidelines of the Local Content Summit, held at Four Points by Sheraton, Houston, Heroes Highway, East Bank Demerara.

Dr. Singh bluntly informed reporters that he knows nothing about the arrangement and directed questions to the executives of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc.

When he was told that these efforts have proven futile, he insisted, “On that matter, I strongly urge you to make contact with the sector minister…I don’t speak on things outside of my competence. I really honestly would not be able say.  I think the people who would be the best able to say are the people working in the sector.”

Meanwhile, when asked what assurances he could give that the country would not be faced with power outages as a result of the demands of the company not being met, Dr. Singh promised that government would do everything in its power to ensure this does not occur.

“I can tell you, as with all other matters, President Ali’s government unwavering concern is about service to the Guyanese people and we will take all actions necessary to protect the interests of the Guyanese people and to ensure their continued convenience and comfort as with all other matters,” the government official stated.

Since Saturday, Kaieteur News requested a comment from minister Indar on the issue. Questions sent again on Tuesday were ignored. Likewise, President Irfaan Ali has not responded to questions posed by this newspaper since Monday.

In the meantime, Guyanese across the country have begun complaining of an increase in blackouts.

Under the expired energy deal with Karpowership, Guyana was renting power at US$0.076/KW, forking out US$23,008,665.6 on an annual basis.

The new demands by Karpowership will add about US$5.8M in rental fees, driving up Guyana’s annual bill for that vessel to US$28,780,832.

The company’s contract with the GoG ended on 21^st May, 2026. Recognising the crisis they are in, the GoG desperately wrote to the company on May 22, begging for an additional 30-day extension to hash out a new contract.

The powership operators however flatly rejected the government’s plea, informing that it could not facilitate such a lengthy extension, granting instead a limited one-week window which closed on Monday, 1^st June, 2026.

A damning joint letter dated 25^th May, 2026, sent by Karadeniz Powership Yasin Bey Company Limited and Urbacon Concessions Investments to minister Indar highlights the chilling reality of Guyana’s energy crisis.

The foreign entity threatened to pull its services if government fails to meet its demands by 1^st June, 2026. The operators demanded that the government moves swiftly, stating that “alignment and unification of the commercial terms and pricing structure across all country operations remain essential requirements for the continuation of the arrangement.”

They ominously concluded that they trust the matter will be settled “to avoid any interruption to operations.”

While Guyana continues to be bullied into submission by foreign companies, the government remains tightlipped on the financial arrangement that is milking the national treasury dry. At the heart of foggy transaction is the delayed GTE project which government promises will come online by the end of this year- a timeline that energy experts question.

The two-year delay in the project will cost the country more than double the cost of the Wales development which was initially pegged at US$759M.

On May 28, this publication reported that these delays are likely to cost the nation an eye-watering US$884M more.

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• blackout, Deodat Indar, GPL, Karpowership, President Irfaan Ali, silent

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