'Govt. celebrates gas to energy power lines' ...as Guyanese still awaiting promised 50% cut in electricity tariffs

‘Govt. celebrates gas to energy power lines’ …as Guyanese still awaiting promised 50% cut in electricity tariffs – Patterson

Jul 17, 2026 News

…says 2-year powership contract confirms no deadline in sight

(Kaieteur News) – Interim Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC) and former Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson has dismissed the government’s celebration of the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) transmission network as a public relations exercise, arguing that the project remains far from delivering electricity because its key generation facilities are still unfinished.

'Govt. celebrates gas to energy power lines' ...as Guyanese still awaiting promised 50% cut in electricity tariffs – Patterson

Interim Leader of the AFC, David Patterson

Patterson contended that while the government is boasting that the transmission network is 99% complete, the electricity generation and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plants at Wales remain almost two years behind schedule and are unlikely to be fully operational before mid-2027.

Government this week highlighted that the transmission network to distribute electricity from the project is 99% completed.

On his Facebook page, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo posted “With the Gas-to-Energy transmission network now 99% complete, Guyana is on the verge of a new era of affordable and reliable electricity.”

He added that the project represents a major step in the country’s energy transformation, using natural gas to reduce electricity costs, improve energy security and create a stronger foundation for future renewable energy development.

To this end, Patterson pointed out, “transmission lines cannot function independently; operational readiness requires the completion and integration of generation facilities, substations, protection systems, and distribution interfaces. While transmission line construction between Wales and Goedverwagting may have advanced, the associated substations and gas-fired generation sets necessary for power delivery and system integration are nowhere near commissioning readiness.”

The former Minister of Public Infrastructure who held responsibility for the energy sector between 2015 and 2020 was adamant that highlighting the transmission line completion cannot be used as an accurate assessment of the project’s overall operational status. In fact, he said, “it is yet another smoke screen.”

Map showing the route of the transmission lines.

Patterson highlighted that the pipeline component of the project, built by ExxonMobil was completed since 2024, but close to two years later, not a single kilowatt of power has been produced with the generating sets nowhere close to completion as is evident from recent images shared publicly.

Evidence of more delays

The ex-MP noted, “A project that was slated to be completed by 2024 now does not have a definitive end date, which is why the PPP were forced to renew the rental agreement with the 36MW power ship for an additional two years, since they are well aware that this project has about that time period to be completed, if it ever will be completed.”

It was recently reported that the GoG renewed the rental agreement with a Turkish powership, after the initial two-year agreement concluded in June.

Patterson concluded that the GTE project, Guyana’s largest ever infrastructural development in history has become a case study on how not to execute a major project. “We hoped that the PPP had learnt their lesson after the ill-fated Skeldon plant, and the fiber optic cable, both colossal failures, however they have doubled down on the Gas to Energy project just to demonstrate to the world that they are capable of failures on a grander scale,” he said.

Furthermore, the party leader accused the administration of incompetence and lack of accountability, as after six years and billions spent on power generation, Guyana continues to suffer daily power outages being blamed on “everything, including rats, carrion crows, minibus drivers, excavators’ operators – while the true is simpler – the PPP are incapable of managing our power network.”

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AFC, David Patterson, gas-to-energy, natural gas liquids, powership

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