Finnish company, Wärtsilä is continuing its analysis of data and information gathered to determine the cause of the malfunctioning of the five recently-installed electricity generators at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara facility.
GPL’s Chief Executive Officer Bharrat Dindyal said on Monday that with all the suspected causes discounted during the troubleshooting, the company is left with analyzing the data collected. He stated that as much as GPL is keen to understand what went wrong, Wärtsilä will have to pronounce on what occurred.
At present, he said four of the five generators are back online generating power to supply the national grid. Their performance, Dindyal said is being constantly monitored by both engineers from Wärtsilä and GPL.
The fifth generator is expected to return to service within the next two weeks.
During the troubleshooting phase the engines were taken off the grid and inspected for deficiencies. In some instances fuel pumps and auxiliary systems were repaired and replaced.
Additionally, he stated that they have now equipped the facility with an oil testing kit for day-to- day monitoring.
Bharrat emphasised that the lube oil used on the engines is up to standard and that it has not contributed to the malfunctioning of the generators.
The utility company’s CEO had previously noted that there is no issue with the fuel or lube oil as the same type and grade have been procured to be used across the country.
“Since [19]93 we have been using the Shell brand of lube oil and grade at the generators across the country at Kingston, Sophia, Berbice… As a matter of fact some years ago we tried to use the Texaco brand but we had to immediately revert to Shell… so it is not a fuel or oil issue,” he explained.
On January 14, GPL announced that it had shut down the plant as there were fears of a massive explosion after the detection of fuel in the exhaust of a generator.
