Govt. still negotiating demands with powership company

Jun 05, 2026 News

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…increased blackouts not linked to ship

(Kaieteur News) – After four days of silence, the Government of Guyana (GoG) on Thursday revealed that it has not yet accepted the demands by the Turkish powership to fork out millions more daily to provide the country with electricity.

In a brief statement issued yesterday, the Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar said, “I would like to assure the public that the Government of Guyana is working in the best interests of the people of Guyana to get the best possible commercial rate for the renewal of the contract.”

“We continue to be in the negotiation process, while the power ship maintains an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the national grid,” Indar added. The minister assured that the public will be updated “at the appropriate time” on the completion of the contractual negotiations between the Guyana Power and Light Inc. and UCC JV with Karpowership.

Further, the minister did not respond to questions from this newspaper as to the rate the country is currently paying the private company while the deliberations take place behind closed doors.

He however explained that power outages across the nation were not linked to a lack of power generation. Instead, the minister noted that these events are likely due to maintenance activities to the national power grid and interruptions caused by private contractors.

On Sunday, Kaieteur News reported that the GoG is being held at ransom by the Turkish powership company which is reportedly demanding higher rates in order to keep the lights on in Guyana, while State officials scramble behind closed doors, begging for extra time to negotiate.

According to a damning joint letter dated 25^th May, 2026, leaked to this publication, 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.

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 powership, 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.

Meanwhile, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul on Thursday wrote Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir for permission to ask an oral question without notice pursuant to Standing Order 18 at the 4th Sitting of the National Assembly of the 13th Parliament of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana scheduled for today.

Mahipaul said the questions speak to the continued supply of electricity to the national grid through the powership arrangements currently being utilised by Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL).

He told Speaker Nadir that the matter is one of urgent public importance.

“Recent public reports indicate that the principal Powership Time Charter Plus Agreement expired on 21^st May, 2026 and that the Government subsequently sought an extension while negotiations were being undertaken for a new arrangement. Reports further suggest that only a limited extension was granted and that uncertainty remains regarding the continued operation of the powerships upon which GPL presently depends to meet national electricity demand,” he said in his letter.

As a result, Mahipaul said GPL continues to experience significant generation deficiencies and remains substantially reliant on the powerships to avoid widespread load shedding and blackouts. He said too that the power ship arrangements were intended to be temporary measures pending completion and commissioning of the Gas-to-Energy Project.

“The Gas-to-Energy Project has not yet become operational and is not presently supplying electricity to the national grid; and the expiration of the powership contract on 21^stMay, 2026 and the uncertainty surrounding its continuation raise immediate concerns regarding national energy security, economic activity, and the welfare of citizens,” he said.

Mahipaul questioned:

“Can the Honourable Minister inform this House:

(a) whether the Government has commenced negotiations for the renewal or extension of the powership contracts;

(b) whether the operators of the powerships have demanded additional payments beyond the existing contractual terms and, if so, the amount being sought and the basis for such demands;

(c) whether the Government has assessed the consequences for the national grid should either or both powerships cease operations before the Gas-to-Energy Project becomes operational; and

(d) what measures are being taken to ensure that Guyanese consumers and businesses are not subjected to renewed blackouts and load shedding arising from any interruption in the powership arrangements?”

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• blackouts, GPL, Karpowership, powership company, Turkish Powership

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