Dear Editor,
A blackout on Friday, November 29 returned to paralyse the whole of Region Two from 7 am to 1am on November 30, and Essequibians are bracing themselves for more blackouts during the Christmas season.
More than ten years ago the GPL Board of Directors directed the management of the Anna Regina Wartsila power plant to begin reducing blackouts, and not just talk about it. But they are still here with us. We were the first in the country to receive a Wartsila power plant with the commitment to stabilize our electricity, but GPL has still not met the stabilization commitment goal.
We are faced with the same reality every year, and feel that there are natural and governmental forces which work against us. We Essequibians need to put all our differences aside and really begin to speak with a shared voice. To solve the numerous problems we face with our businesses, the government has to find common ground that will be the basis for solutions. In today’s changing business, political and environmental landscape, we know it is imperative to work together with all interested parties to make sure the region is sustained with a regular power supply. The government needs more natural approaches and engineering solutions that include harnessing power efficiently. The electricity power plant operates inefficiently because fuel supplies do not arrive on time, there is inadequate maintenance or a failure to correct some minor fault. As a country we need to understand that electricity is not just a big expense; it’s an important investment that will yield returns for generation to come.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan
