It is almost a month now since one of the generators supplying residents in Lethem with electricity went down and it is still to be fixed.
As a result some parts of the community are still receiving an inadequate supply of power even though another generator was brought in to correct the situation.
The reason for the inability to fix the generator that went down is still unclear and efforts to secure a comment from officials at the Lethem Power Company (LPC) were unsuccessful. The engine went down due to mechanical problems. It is the generator that was donated by the government last year to provide round-the-clock power. A source close to the LPC had told this newspaper that the engine was taken to neighbouring Brazil to be fixed and that it was expected to be finished soon.
Lethem is divided into three sections which receive power at different times since the generator went down. Out of those three sections, one area receives power from 8am to 4am per day while the other two sections receive only eight hours per day.
A source told this newspaper that the one standby engine, that was left after the other went down, is what is supplying the areas that receive the eight hours while the engine that was brought in from Georgetown is supplying the area that gets the 20 hours of electricity.
One resident of Central Lethem stated that the generator that broke down weeks ago is at a point where its operating system needs to be replaced as well as the engine itself. The resident said that the generator is experiencing too many mechanical problems and will continue to do so because its shelf-life ended long ago. A new generator with the capacity to supply the entire Lethem with power is what is needed the resident added.
Lethem residents have been complaining of insufficient amounts of electricity for several years now owing to the constant breaking down of the generator and were more so affected during last week which was their busiest time of the year as a result of the Rupununi Rodeo.
