-PM tells Parliament By Mark McGowan
From November 5, there should be a return to normalcy in the country’s electricity supply Prime Minister Sam Hinds told the National Assembly last evening.
Hinds, the minister with oversight for the energy sector, gave this assurance while debating a motion on the state of the energy supply, after Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran approved an application by Opposition Leader Robert Corbin.
Corbin requested of the Speaker “leave to move the adjournment of the Assembly to discuss an urgent matter of public importance; the present untenable and deplorable situation in the supply of electricity by GPL to consumers.” He called “upon the Minister responsible to provide an adequate and credible explanation …on the true state of affairs in the sector so that they (Guyanese) can plan their daily lives in an atmosphere where information is available to them.”
The Opposition Leader noted that the irregular power supply over the last few weeks was an issue of “national importance” since it affected all Guyanese both at the domestic and business level. He stated that the irregular power supply damages sensitive equipment and also pointed out that extended periods of blackouts leads to food being spoilt causing a financial burden on many Guyanese. Corbin further stated that the current state with the electricity supply is believed to be the cause of several electrical fires including last’s Friday’s inferno on Regent Street which destroyed three businesses and a house.
Corbin stated that since the PPP/C administration came to power it has failed to adequately improve the electricity supply in the country. According to him, this failure has come inspite of the administration being provided with several clear guidelines as to what was necessary for improvements in this sector. Corbin said that the PNC administration already had a plan and had started initiatives to implement aspects of this plan prior to its departure from office in 1992.
Commenting on the recent spate of black outs, the Opposition Leader said that it made a mockery of the PPP/C’s manifesto at the 2006 elections when it promised significant improvements in the electricity sector. Corbin also noted that there have been increases in tariffs while the electricity supply was still not much improved.
He called on Hinds to advise the nation as to what exactly is the problem with the electricity supply and when exactly can they see improvements.
In response, Hinds noted that over the years, the government has undertaken several initiatives to improve the electricity supply even though there had been notable constraints. He noted that there had been a vast improvement in the quality of the electricity supply from 1994 until recently.
Providing statistics, Hinds noted that in January 2008, there was an average of 5 to 10 interruptions per month which resulted in an average of 8 to 15 hours of blackouts per month. He further noted that in the period from August to September of this year, power interruptions had increased to 15 to 16 per month at an average of 24 hours per month.
Hinds noted that while the government recognized the need for upgraded generation and for improved transmission there were always financial constraints. He also said that the power company had been faced with the steady increase in demand for electricity in the country.
The Prime Minister explained that part of the reason for the current blackout situation is because work is ongoing on building the new transmission line from the new power station in Kingston to Sophia. He said that this exercise should be completed by Monday.
Hinds said that he was “asking for just a little more patience” and expressed his optimism that in the next two to three weeks the situation will be better. He said that in the meantime he has asked GPL to ensure that the power outages are scheduled ones so that there is more reliability in the power supply.
Meanwhile, at yesterday’s sitting the National Assembly approved a motion that will see the country’s ratification of the Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) as well as the country’s Accession to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The House also approved a motion to deploy a total of 90 ranks from the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force to Trinidad to serve at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which will be held from November 21 to 30.
The PNCR-1G was the only Opposition party present at yesterday’s sitting of the National Assembly, with members of both the AFC and GAP/ROAR being absent.
