Some 15.6 Megawatts (MW) of power is expected to be added to the national grid after the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) yesterday received two generating sets, which it had ordered from the Wartsila power company last year.
Speaking to the media at the John Fernandes Wharf on Water Street, where the two 7.8MW generating sets and other supporting equipment were offloaded, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds noted that the power company is aiming to stabilise the energy cost for consumers.
The sets were procured from the company at a cost of US$20 million and will be added to existing sets at the new Kingston Power plant. According to Hinds, the facility, which was commissioned late 2009, has been “running quite well” and he added that it chalked up its first 10,000 hours of power generation about a month ago.
Hinds, who was joined by GPL CEO Bharrat Dindyal and other officials of the power company, noted that the authorities have been taking steps to ensure that the country has a “good supply of electricity,” while keeping cost low for consumers. He added that measures have been put in place in this regard to cushion the energy prices that customers have been paying.
As regards the maintenance of the sets, Hinds noted that the equipment would have a scheduled maintenance period attached to it. He said that such schedules will seek to ensure that the machines could be brought back to an almost new state.
He noted that Wartsila has been providing the relevant maintenance service, which was mutually agreed. According to him, the administration has “stayed with” Wartsila, while the company has lived up to the maintenance cost and availability time for each unit supplied.
Dindyal noted that the two generating sets will add to the 13 which exist in the Demerara power grid, while noting that each unit has the capacity to produce 13,800 volts of electricity. He said that the two complete units will be moved to the Kingston location within the next week.
Late last year, Dindyal had stated that the two new units would be utilised to solve the country’s power woes by expanding the local generation system. He said at the time that the company would be moving to acquire new and reliable engines, thereby ensuring that all the power generated would come from heavy fuel-oil fired engines.
These engines, he said, will not only offer reliable power but would also ensure that generation is done at a reduced cost.
In December 2009, the US$27.5 million Kingston station was commissioned, adding 20.7MW to the generation capacity of GPL.
