Dear Editor,
The headline ‘Xmas should be bright’ in the November 1 edition of the Stabroek News was indeed a deceiving one. ‘GPL assures no planned power outages for Christmas’ was in the Guyana Chronicle the same day while ‘Dark Christmas averted’ was in the Kaieteur News on November 1. It was no accident these headlines graced the dailies that day, which is, for many, the first ‘unofficial’ day of the Christmas season. Little did we know that the headlines were as misleading as can be. Several blackouts graced several areas in Berbice that same day.
The trend continued into this past week with numerous power outages on various days and during the nights.
Just when we had thought it was over, customers in East Canje and the Corentyne coast braced for a four-hour blackout on Thursday, November 6 from approximately 5pm through 9.30pm. It went again on Friday, November 7 at 1pm and never came on until after 4 pm. The entire East and West Berbice, or at least major portions, were without power from 5.30 pm again that afternoon.
I believe it is time to heed the PNC/R’s call for an investigation into the operations of the power company. It is high time.
GPL promises us a reliable electricity supply for Christmas, but when does GPL consider Christmas begins? Is it the week of the holiday, December, or Christmas Day alone? Again, the traditional promises at these times of the year, come as if customers do not deserve a reliable electricity supply throughout the rest of the year. Every single year generators are being rented at very high cost.
GPL has released to the nation the information that the demand for power is more than they can ever supply. What a revelation. They have also revealed that the usual Christmas demand for power is being experienced already — weeks before the traditional Christmas season even begins.
Dr Roger Luncheon, according to the newspaper reports, noted “significant improvements in electricity generation in Berbice,” but this is not so. Prime Minister Hinds gave the assurance that “power generation is back to near normal levels” and that, too, is not the case because the current situation in Berbice demonstrates otherwise.
They are building a new power station in Georgetown, so what about Berbice? Improve what you have before building new systems. I don’t even want to discuss the Skeldon Factory at this time.
If we are having these outages at this time, what will happen when people start putting all those decorative lights on their homes for Christmas? Surely, the demand will rise, but can GPL supply the needed power?
Then some areas are receiving more blackouts than other areas. The load-shedding guides in the newspapers constantly feature some areas more than others. Areas such as the Corentyne coast is plagued with blackouts on a daily basis. The situation continues to be much, much worse on the West Coast of Berbice.
Something is also shocking on nights when there are blackouts. Numerous major police stations around Berbice are engulfed in darkness — not a light to be seen. I have wondered if a break-out could happen at these places during a blackout. Imagine, these are police stations and there isn’t much light. The same goes for hospitals around Berbice. Except for a few little bulbs around the buildings, the hospitals remain in darkness. I wonder how they perform operations during these times. Why can’t the power company divert power especially to these hospitals? A hospital anywhere should never be without electricity − even a police station.
We have experienced so much development since 1992. It is evident everywhere in Guyana: new infrastructure, better working conditions, etc. But we haven’t really developed much in the electricity sector. It is troubling to know that we are in this stage in our developmental process in Guyana, and some sixteen years after the return to democracy, we seem to be having successes in every sector except in the electricity sector. Now the water sector is also crumbling due to the lack of electricity.
Yours faithfully,
Leon Jameson Suseran
