The Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB) will conduct a review of the performance of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) in a matter of weeks and this will guide future release of funds for the continuation of the Unserved Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP).
Speaking to Stabroek News on Thursday, IDB Country Represen-tative for Guyana Sergio Varas-Olea said the programme could not continue if the wastage of electricity goes unabated. The IDB had put the Government of Guyana on notice that consumer uptake of the new service and loss reduction must be improved in order for additional funding to be released.
Varas-Olea said that the review aims to see how best the IDB could help make the company more efficient. “Within a month we should have a clear definition of the review,” Varas-Olea said. He added that the bank would assist GPL to reduce losses to a level of 15 per cent in about three to four years. Giving an illustration of the benefits of GPL’s reducing its losses, he said one per cent of losses represents US$1M a year for the company.
Prime Minister Sam Hinds said the priority is to reduce losses and increase the number of people taking up the service in newly electrified areas.
Hinds said some progress has been made in these areas but people have to do their part as well. “If we all encourage loss reduction and faster uptake of the new service,” it would help, he said as both loss reduction and uptake still have a long way to go before they reach desirable levels.
He said when this happens, he could then demand of the IDB to have the remaining phases of the UAEP implemented.
On a visit to Sophia late last year, this newspaper found that residents were making their contribution to the programme very slowly. Stabroek News found also that though some are making efforts to pay and have the service installed, persons continued to run illegal wires to posts and over trenches, putting lives in danger.
The IDB is the major financier of the US$34.4 million UAEP, with the government GPL and new consumers making contributions. Phase Two, which was scheduled to commence at the beginning of this year, is in limbo and is contingent on improvement in the uptake and reduction of commercial losses. At one of its last press conferences, GPL said the fundamental challenge to the company is the accelerated and sustained reduction of losses over the next four years. Of late, GPL has been stepping up its loss reduction drive in many of the problem areas and has commissioned its own team of marshals to ferret out electricity thieves.
A recent loss assessment done by a UAEP contracted consultant found that of the non-technical losses, which accounts for 28.79 per cent of total losses, 11.04 per cent relates to theft of electricity costing the company $2.4 billion annually.
Of the total commercial losses 6.46 per cent results from the limitations in the company’s billing system costing $1.4 billion annually and 11.29 per cent is as a result of defective meters costing $2.5 billion annually.
At least US$3 million of an IDB package of US$7.5 million included in the UAEP financing will be unlocked to be used for loss reduction efforts now that the loss reduction consultant’s report has been released.
