GPL plans massive five-year expansion, upgrade with US$4.8B grid overhaul

Aug 11, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) will over the next five years spend approximately US$4.8 billion to expand and upgrade its transmission and distribution network, also known as the national grid.

According to its Development and Expansion Programme 2026–2030, the company has outlined a strategic blueprint to transform the electricity sector within the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) and Linden, while meeting surging electricity demand and advancing reliability, affordability and sustainability.

“Over the next five years, the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), together with government’s assistance, plans to undertake an ambitious capital programme, amounting to US$4.869 billion to further expand power generation capacity, modernise and reinforce the transmission & distribution (T&D) system, implement smart grid technologies, reduce total system losses, and strengthen institutional capabilities. This executive summary highlights the Programme’s key technical and financial plans, aligned with the national goals under the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 (LCDS 2030) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy),” the document stated.

The plan is organised around the major sections of the programme, which include its technical mandates and planning criteria, demand forecasts and generation expansion.

It also includes the smart grid transition, transmission and distribution expansion, system losses, sales and revenue, capital investments and financing, corporate enabling initiatives, cost-benefit analysis, environmental and social frameworks, risk management, and divisional implementation plans.

The five-year programme is grounded in the national energy policy and GPL’s mandate to deliver reliable, sustainable and affordable electricity.

“The Engineering Services Division leads capacity expansion and network development using an Integrated Resource and Resilience Planning (IRRP) framework to meet projected demand while strengthening system resilience,” the document added.

Ongoing projects and contracts signed

Since last year, GPL has signed several contracts worth millions of US dollars with companies to facilitate its grid expansion programme, while several projects are already underway.

In April 2025, GPL signed contracts worth approximately US$422 million with PowerChina and Kalpataru for the extension of transmission lines across the eastern corridor of the DBIS.

PowerChina was awarded Lot One, valued at US$256.7 million, while Kalpataru secured the remaining two lots for a combined US$156.5 million.

The scope of the contracts includes 155 kilometres of 230kV double-circuit transmission lines, 167 kilometres of 69kV double-circuit lines, five new substations and the upgrade of the existing Kingston substation.

The 230kV line will interconnect with the Goedverwagting substation, currently under construction as part of the Gas-to-Energy project, and extend to a new substation in Williamsburg, East Berbice.

In October last year, GPL inked a US$15.6 million contract with InterEnergy Group for Supervisory, Engineering and Project Management Consultancy Services, marking a major step in the government’s drive to modernise Guyana’s power infrastructure and develop a smarter, more reliable grid.

The two-year agreement, which followed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in January 2024, is designed to accelerate the country’s energy transition, improve grid reliability and strengthen technical capacity within GPL.

In November 2025, GPL signed an additional US$235 million in contracts, including a US$199 million agreement with KPIL covering new substations and transmission lines at Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke; Williamsburg, East Berbice; Hydronie, East Bank Essequibo; and Princes Street, Georgetown.

The company also signed a US$35.93 million contract with China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation.

In June this year, this publication reported that GPL had begun construction of a new 69kV substation at Colombia, East Coast Demerara, marking the latest milestone in a multi-billion-dollar overhaul of the country’s electricity transmission network.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on 20^th June , 2026, led by contractor Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL), the Indian firm that has emerged as a central player in GPL’s grid modernisation programme.

Construction is currently in its first major civil works phase, with pile-driving operations underway to establish the structural foundation on which the substation will be built.

The Colombia facility forms part of Lot 2 of GPL’s Project 053 and has been designed specifically to improve voltage stability and distribution reliability within the DBIS.

Once completed, it will reinforce transmission capacity and support load growth in rapidly developing areas connected to the DBIS, a system already under significant strain as Guyana’s economy continues to expand.

Another ongoing project is the excavation of a riverbed tunnel, or “bore,” for the network expansion project, which this publication reported on 16^th July.

A “bore” is a tunnel drilled beneath a riverbed using a guided, trenchless method. The technique allows pipelines or conduits to pass beneath a waterway without the need for open-trench excavation or disruption to the river.

In a statement, GPL said significant progress was made on the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) River Crossing Project.

On the West Bank, the company said the HDD equipment setup, along with the pipe-stringing and welding area, had been completed.

On the East Bank, mobilisation of HDD equipment began on 12^th  July, while the first shipment of polyethylene (PE) pipes had already arrived.

Welding of the PE ducts is expected to begin this week, with the first HDD bore scheduled to commence in approximately 14 days.

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• Development and Expansion Programme, GPL, grid overhaul

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