Blackouts will continue until all power lines, substations fixed – Indar

Aug 15, 2026 News

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Kaieteur News –  The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc is scrambling to address an “unusual peak” in electricity demand, largely triggered by the el nino period that has resulted in increased power outages across the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).

In some instances, efforts to remedy the situation can take weeks, leaving customers vulnerable to constant blackouts.

This warning was signalled by the Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, during a press briefing on Friday with top energy officials including Prime Minister Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GPL, Kesh Nandlall among others.

In his opening remarks, Indar explained that there has been a significant increase in the demand for electricity. “As at last night and the night before we saw the grid…recorded a demand of 242.64 megawatts (MW), it’s the highest we have had since the grid was formed. Last year we saw a demand peak of 221 MW- so in a single year it rose by 21.6MW.”

Based on internal estimates, Indar said the peak is likely to jump to around 266MW between August and October. “These three months are the hottest months on record and it is driving up the use of energy and the demand on the grid…the increase is due to the weather, the hotness of the temperature, increased housing activities in the country- as you know there is a massive amplified housing drive and there’s a lot of customers that are now on the grid…commercial operations as well as industrial customers.”

Be that as it may, he assured that the current generation can meet the demand, however, the issue remains aged transmission and distribution networks, including feeders and cables used to send electricity to various areas.

According to the minister, “Right now we have a demand of 242.64 and as of this morning we have a reliable generation of 256 MW.” In addition to that, he said several interventions will be made to increase capacity to 280.3 MW.

In the meantime, he said the Vreed-en-Hoop power plant in Region Three has 26.1 MW of generation however the demand there has grown to a whopping 41MW. To this end, the minister explained that the power line in the Demerara River has been supplying the shortfall in the Region from Kingston. That line usually transmits 7MW of power but can accommodate up to 15 MW which is insufficient to meet the current demand.

To address the shortfall, a second cable will be laid across the river, with work expected to commence in the upcoming week.

In Region Four, he explained, “There is a feeder which we call the F2 feeder that moves from Sophia and it goes to Ogle till up to Success…that feeder is designed to carry about 8-9MW of power…the night before we had three to four trips on the feeder. It’s not a generation issue. If the feeder is designed to carry 8-9MW and the demand in the area has gone beyond that, the heat in the line cause it to trip.”

This, the minister added, causes blackouts within the peak periods, generally around 7-9pm.

In Georgetown where a new substation was built in the vicinity of the Eagle Round-about, the facility receives 70MW from the powership which is distributed on the East Bank, Georgetown and even the East Coast of Demerara.

Indar said the facility currently requires “work because some of the feeders that are going to Eccles area” tend to trip. This will require at least eight hours to be rectified, an overhaul that is likely to be done on Sunday.

Still in Region Four, Indar said the Garden of Eden powerplant takes electricity to Kuru-Kururu, Timehri and villages in-between. The line however has reached its “thermal limit” meaning that the feeders, designed to take off 8-9MW are being forced to deliver more electricity which cannot be accommodated.

With there being no alternative line to distribute the additional power required for those villages, the Public Utilities Minister assured that a parallel feeder is being constructed but this intervention will take at least three months to be completed. “We have that feeder, it’s going to be constructed, it will take about three months so we build it in stages and keep offloading the power in phases so it can reduce the amount of power going that side.

Over in Region Five, Indar said the line that takes power to Berbice distributes over 25 MW. Because the line is heavily concentrated with power, he said system trips are likely to occur with the slightest interference by a passing machine without even touching the system.

A new line is currently under construction to address the issue.

Meanwhile, in Region Six, government noted significant voltage fluctuation in recent days, causing water supply to be affected for days in some instances.

Due to the heavy demand for power in the Region, Indar said two major customers were taken off the grid on Thursday evening temporarily which stabilised the voltage. To address the power demand in the Region, GPL will add two generators that will supply 2.2MW of power.

Cabinet decisions

At the Cabinet level, government has made a decision to conserve enegy by ensuring internal lights and air conditioners among others are turned off at the end of the work day.

Additionally, Indar said discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to take off the flood lights installed on community grounds during peak hours when there is no event.

Moreover, he noted that at least three large customers, with self-generating capacity, have been asked to come off the national grid during peak hours to ensure stability in power distribution.

Government also appealed to the public to explore ways to conserve electricity, especially during peak hours.

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• blackouts, demand, Deodat Indar, Electricity, feeder, power, transmission

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