Wales project to startup by year end but no 50% promised reduction in light bills until plant reaches full capacity – PM

Aug 15, 2026 News

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Kaieteur News –  The Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) contractor, Lindsayca has promised the Government of Guyana (GoG) to deliver a fraction of the 300 megawatts power by the end of 2026, but this will not result in the promised 50% reduction in light bills for customers of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).

This was made clear on Friday by Prime Minister Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips during a press conference to provide key update on the country’s electricity generation and supply at Colgrain House, Camp Street, Georgetown.

During remarks, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar said, “At the end of the year, myself and the Prime Minister have gotten the commitment from Lindsayca, the Gas-to-Energy contractor that we will get one of the turbines that will generate 57MW of power.”

Lindsayca was initially expected to deliver the 300-MW power plant as well as the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility since the end of 2024. The two-year delay has resulted in the country being forced to rent two power ships to supply the nation with electricity to meet its growing power demands.

Government promised that the project would bring 50% relief on electric bills for customers but the relief will not come until at least 228MW of power is supplied by the contractor.

In response to a question from this newspaper, the prime minister explained, “After the project, we said 50% reduction at the end of the project and the project we’re talking about is phase one. Phase one ends when we get 228 MW of power and then you got the 300MW that will come from the steam afterwards. So, when we achieve that, that’s phase one.”

The two-year delay of the Wales GTE project is expected to cost the country approximately US$884M more than the initial cost of the two gas plants currently under construction.

The two plants initially pegged at US$759M is likely to double due to the increasingly high import bill for Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), rental of powerships and a costly legal dispute.

Notwithstanding, the government hopes that the project could start up by the end of the year, but by then, the financial hemorrhage to the country would be severe.

The country was initially informed of a 2024 year-end startup for the Wales project- intended to slash electricity tariffs by half and supply stable, cleaner energy. Due to delays in the site preparation phase, government is now anticipating that the project will come online by end of this year- a timeline experts believe is unattainable.

In the meantime, Guyana is forced to swallow an increasingly expensive pill: the exorbitant cost of importing HFO to keep the lights on in the country which amount to an eye- watering US$619M for the two-year period.

Since January 2025, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) have relied almost entirely on imported HFO. During the 2026 budget defense by the PPP, it was revealed that GPL’s base fuel bill stands at a staggering GY$47 billion per annum—roughly US$18.78 million every month—with 93% of that fuel being HFO.

The situation is rapidly worsening. Recently, Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips revealed a shocking 74.8% average increase in fuel import costs since the beginning of 2026.

But here is what that actually means for the country. During 2025, operating at the baseline of US$18.78 million monthly, the import bill was approximately US$225.36 million.

With the prime minister’s acknowledged 74.8% surge, the monthly bill skyrockets to over US$32.83 million. From January to May 2026 alone adds another US$164.15M to the furnace.

Should this inflated price for HFO be applied to keep the country powered to the end of this year, it means the fuel import bill for 2026 will be a staggering US$393.96M.

Consequently, the two-year delay in startup of the GTE project is costing this country a whopping US$619.32M in fuel imports alone.

It should be noted that in addition to the fuel cost for GPL, Guyana was forced to hire two Turkish powerships to supplement the national grid. The rental bill on the country is GY$126M daily, as was previously highlighted by Interim Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), David Patterson.

In addition to the rental of power, and the heavy import bill for fuel, Guyana was also caught in a legal dispute with the contractor, Lindsayca/ CH4. The GoG recently admitted that it was forced to pay out a US$97M settlement to the consortium. Government also paid close to US$2M for the battery of lawyers that represented Guyana during the dispute process.

As such, the extensive delays in project is expected to cost Guyana a massive US$884M more.

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• 50% reduction, bills, Electricity bills, gas-to-energy, LINDSAYCA, Minister Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips, startup, Wales Gas-to-Energy (GTE) contractor

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