Eleven of 13 Wartsila units for overhaul by end of July

This year, major overhauls are scheduled on 11 of the 13 Wartsila-operated and maintained generating units, with seven of these overhauls being due by the end of July 2014, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) said yesterday.

GPL said in a statement that the new generation facility at Vreed-en-Hoop is also expected to be commissioned around July.  The overhauls have been scheduled in keeping with manufacturers’ recommendations and are expected to last for 10 days each, GPL said. They also form part of GPL’s rigid maintenance programme.

The power company was severely criticized over the Christmas holidays for a spate of blackouts despite promising customers that all was well and that there was sufficient generating power. It later blamed the bad weather and defects in its transmission and distribution system for the blackouts.

“GPL wishes to assure all customers that our Company will continue to maintain all of its generating engines across the country to ensure their continued reliability to supply quality electricity”, the company said yesterday.