Power theft tackled effectively in the last quarter of 2006 -GPL

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) says that the last quarter of 2006 was very eventful in the fight against electricity theft and that this year the focus will continue to be loss reduction measures in problem areas as the Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP) is still under threat.

The company said in a notice that squads of hundreds of men visited areas on the East Bank Demerara and Berbice and the West Coast Demerara and Berbice. They also visited specific pockets in and around the city of Georgetown to remove illicit wires.

The notice said that loss reduction squads have reported a noticeable reduction in the amount of wires they removed from these areas in the last quarter of 2006. They also said that of all the areas that had been visited consistently residents of Sophia A and B fields seem more determined than ever to defy any attempt at curbing their habit of stealing power.

The release said that these areas will continue to be the focus of loss reduction measures this year.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who has responsibility for electricity, said that the IDB will retain its position on the UAEP until consumers assume more responsibility for the defrayal of electrification works which have been completed in their respective communities.

The IDB said it would put the second phase of the programme on hold, following concerns that its beneficiaries were not moving to pay for and access the facility. The UAEP is a government initiative for the electrification of approximately 220 communities countrywide. Phase one of the UAEP is complete and thousands of residents are already benefiting from its social and economic impact.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister, a hinterland component of the programme is to come on stream shortly to benefit thousands of Amerindians in remote communities.

Referring to a freeze in works, the Prime Minister said recently that consumers have to increase their take up in areas where distribution services have been made available. In some communities, the take up has been lower than 10 per cent, the Prime Minister’s Office reported.

“The ball is presently in the court of some of the consumers,” Hinds said, adding that the paying of subscriptions is a precondition of continuity under the agreement between the government and the IDB.

Additional impediments to the programme include a very low recovery rate of revenue for power supplied. “All across the country there must be a reduction in the loss of electricity which is consumed but not paid for,” Hinds said.

The cost of inter-connection per household is $75,000. For each household contribution of $15,000, government pays a corresponding $60,000 to GPL.