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GPL begins drilling for new 69kV Demerara Riverbed cable
(Kaieteur News) – Drilling is currently underway for a new submarine cable across the Demerara River, the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) announced on Friday.
In a statement, GPL said the new 69-kilovolt (kV) submarine cable is the first of its kind in Guyana and will connect the Kingston Substation to the Vreed-en-Hoop Substation, significantly strengthening the power supply to West Demerara.
Works are advancing at both ends of the river crossing, at West Demerara and Kingston.
Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, visited the Vreed-en-Hoop worksite to assess the progress of the project. He was accompanied by a GPL delegation led by Executive Management Committee Team Leader Kesh Nandlall, GPL Director Gary Hall, and Rafael Nabi of Capital Edge Partners.
The team examining the ongoing works for the cable.
During the visit, Indar received an update on the drilling operations from Shayne Hicks of HDDT International.
“The double-circuit cable will be installed approximately 75 feet below the riverbed using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) — a trenchless technique that leaves the river and its traffic completely undisturbed. The project also includes the expansion of both the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston Substations to receive and dispatch the additional power, including a new 69 kV GIS installation at Kingston,” GPL said.
The company described the new cable as a strategic investment in the architecture of the national grid, noting that it will provide a redundant transmission path for power from the Gas-to-Energy plant at Wales.
According to GPL, the additional transmission path will allow electricity supply to be maintained even if one link is out of service, making the project a cornerstone of its plan to build a resilient and interconnected grid network over the long term.
The new cable will also replace a decades-old river crossing with limited capacity.
“The investment comes as electricity demand grows strongly across the system: consumption in West Demerara has risen from 25 MW to 41 MW in recent months, and the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System recorded its highest-ever peak of 246.2 MW just last night — growth the strengthened grid is being built to serve,” GPL added.
GPL explained that because the new cable will be installed approximately 75 feet beneath the riverbed—well below the existing crossing—it will clear the way for the long-awaited dredging of the Demerara River channel.
The company said this will allow deeper-draft vessels to navigate the river, supporting Guyana’s expanding trade and shipping activities.
GPL also said it has not waited for the new crossing to be completed to strengthen the system.
“As an immediate redundancy measure, a second cable has already been laid from Sussex Street to Vreed-en-Hoop, giving West Demerara an additional supply path today while the main crossing is drilled,” the company said.
The Demerara River crossing forms part of GPL’s wider strategic build-out of the national grid, which includes new substations, transmission lines, distribution feeders and battery storage projects now under construction across the country to meet the growing electricity needs of homes, businesses and industry.
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