The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) in its commitment to provide reliable electricity supply to its customers during the holiday season, will continue to patrol and monitor its various systems to ensure that issues that could potentially cause widespread outages during the holidays are addressed promptly.
According to a GPL press release on Monday, every effort is being made to ensure the availability of its generating units. However, the inadequacies in the aged Transmission and Distribution (T&D) network continue to pose problems. This has been exacerbated by persons accidentally coming into contact with the facilities. Therefore, the public is urged to exercise caution when operating machinery within close proximity to the company’s T&D infrastructure.
The following is a breakdown of the status of the areas served by GPL
Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS)
The current available generation capacity within the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) is 133.7 Megawatts (MW) which means all existing operable units are available. Peak demand during the season is expected to be about 112 MW and barring multiple plant failures, there will be enough generating capacity to meet demand.
Anna Regina
Commissioning of the new Anna Regina Power Station has progressed to the stage where the three units totaling 5.4 MW are now available to complement the existing generating sets, for a total available capacity of over 12 MW. Even though the new units are still under observation, having just commencing operation, there is enough capacity to adequately meet the expected demand of approximately 5 MW.
Bartica
4.3 MW of generation will be available to provide customers in Bartica with an adequate power supply to meet the peak demand of approximately 1.6 MW.
Leguan
Two units with an aggregate capacity of 828 Kilowatts (kW) are currently available at Leguan. These units will adequately supply the peak demand of approximately 280 kW. Generation capacity will be boosted in January with an additional 414 kW.
Wakenaam
With a peak demand of approximately 280 kW, customers in Wakenaam will have adequate power generation with the availability of 650 kW. An additional 325 kW will be added by month end.
GPL also stated that it has concluded pre-planned maintenance activities on the Transmission & Distribution (T&D) network on December 16. The team, however, continues to patrol and monitor the various systems to ensure that issues that could cause potential widespread outages during the holidays are addressed. In some instances, this may mean having localised outages for shorter periods of time. The company apologises for these situations, but given the vulnerabilities in the T&D network, they are necessary to prevent more widespread outages and potential total system shutdowns.
The utility disclosed that it has managed to reduce its total system shutdowns from 25 in 2017 to 12 in 2018, with only one shutdown since September as it continues to work towards improving its service delivery.
