How did the GPL mess develop in Berbice?

BY Staff
Published: October 30, 2008 in Letters

Dear Editor,

GPL blamed mechanical failure for the blackouts in Demerara and Berbice, supported by Prime Minister Sam Hinds who is always easy to convince of anything. We have to ask some questions. Are there machines in Berbice that were down long before this crisis? Why didn’t they repair them? Is there a machine at Onverwagt that was out for several months and only now they have ordered parts to bring it back into operation? Did they overhaul the big machine at Canefield in a way which its makers or any self-respecting technical man would not regard as an overhaul? I am talking about replacing major parts on selected days and the machine going back into operation after every replacement. If this went on over several months before finishing then no wonder the machine never performed like an overhauled engine and it is now limping. Did they postpone major maintenance on machines because Skeldon was to be the answer to everything? Is this why some of them are down now? Bad planning! Skeldon has its own problems now and they are playing hardball with GPL.

Why didn’t they build a 69kv line between Skeldon and GPL? Working without one was always going to be a problem. Money should have been found for this somehow from somewhere.

Are orders for spares given importance or are they left sometimes to gather dust on people’s desks? Is this why we have some of the present problems?

What about the setting up of another big machine at Canefield? After many months and endless talking it is still to arrive from Suriname and the preparation work at Canefield has barely started. Did the CEO retain his old position as operations boss for two years after he became CEO? If so, that position could be filled by a capable Caricom national or overseas based Guyanese. It only needs the will to fill it.

The CEO spoke about the transmission line from Skeldon, the machine coming from Suriname and creating a national grid at his press conference. All of them are old issues. He did not talk about how the mess developed in Berbice. And Demerara has its problems too. President Bharrat Jagdeo has to take a good hard look at the GPL executive if he is tired of “frivolous excuses.”

Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)

Comments

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13 Comments

badlall says:

October 30, 2008 at 6:33 am

All these people that are working at these entities were hand picked by Bharat Jagdeo so he should take the blame…unqualified ….square peg round holes….party hacks …lackeys etc.

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GT787 says:

October 30, 2008 at 11:18 am

The mess developed because they never replaced the No. 3 Mirlees set at Canefield and like you quite rightly mentioned they had at least a five year headstart to build a 69 KV transmission line from Skeldon to No. 53 (12 miles). Talk about incompetence.

Had the 69 kv transmission line been in place the Wartsilla set at Skeldon could poer the entire Berbice along with whatever GPL have limping along; and now that the factory is being commissioned power from the two 15 megawatts steam turbines could be supplemented to meet any demand with the Wartsilla units which are primarily for use in the “out of crop” period.

The problem in Demerara is that the took out the 27 MW steam units before finding replacement generating capacity; at least one unit could have been kept for redundancy.

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Leon Jameson Suseran says:

October 30, 2008 at 3:52 pm

me weary write about gpl !!!

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- M. Xiu Quan-Balgobind-Hackett says:
  
  October 30, 2008 at 8:40 pm
  
  pant pant puff puff whew
  me moe weary dan u
  zzzzzzzzzzzz
Arnold says:

October 30, 2008 at 5:49 pm

Goat shit does only wait fuh lil breez fuh roll.
Not only Guyana with blackouts.
In Vzla with 3 mega hydro dams supplying Colombia/Brazil with electricity does have sometimes almost Nationwide blackouts, in the Penthouses we have Solar Powered Enviromental friendly panels as standby….

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- Leon Jameson Suseran says:
  
  October 30, 2008 at 7:41 pm
  
  ayo does get 12,13,18 and 24 hr blackouts everyday?
- Sarkar says:
  
  October 31, 2008 at 10:41 am
  
  Nobody asked squat about Vzla or The Congo or Timbuktoo. This is about GPL, stick to the issues. Who cares about why there are blackouts elsewhere? Let them solve their problems. GPL must solve theirs. Do we continue to swim in mediocrity??? The issue here is Guyana and GPL. The next thing we will hear is Burnham had this problem. Well my friend, Burnham did not solve this problem, his government is history. Guyana voted for a change, it is time for the present government to solve this problem, if they cannot then it is time to make way for a new government. It is time for Guyana to progress into the future.
Caesar Agustus says:

October 30, 2008 at 7:54 pm

GPL is probably doing shoddy work. You will know when shoddy work is done whenever there is a small rainstorm and electricity goes off. This kind of practice was discovered in Florida after the last hurricanes, and the power suppliers are closely being scrutinized.

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8R-DAW says:

October 31, 2008 at 11:39 am

I remember at a party, there was a blackout, after about an hour and a half later, and many shots of rum, there were typical shouts of lights! lights! You know you are in Guyana immediately.

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- Caesar Agustus says:
  
  October 31, 2008 at 7:56 pm
  
  And your refigerator and tv is blown.
M. Xiu Quan-Balgobind-Hackett says:

October 30, 2008 at 8:42 pm

in the Bolivarian republic blackout is a once in a looooooooong while event

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Arnold says:

October 31, 2008 at 12:00 am

Sr L.J Suseran:
Not so much, but frequent!!

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Arnold says:

October 31, 2008 at 10:09 pm

Well probably it was a little out of contex, but sometimes you have to make references to ALL those with Convenient Cataract and Cross Eyes.

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