The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) is seeking additional generating capacity and making adjustments to its electricity network ahead of the Christmas season, with Chief Executive Officer Kesh Nandlall assuring customers that power will be available for both Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Nandlall made the commitment during an appearance on the Starting Point podcast, where he was questioned about GPL’s preparations for the holiday period amid continued power interruptions and growing electricity demand.
“We are doing our best, and we are seeking additional generation to support us for Christmas,” Nandlall said. He explained that GPL is also making adjustments across its network to better distribute electricity between feeders where demand is uneven.
According to the CEO, where one feeder becomes heavily loaded while another has additional capacity, GPL can shift some of that load to reduce pressure on the system.
“We can share loads among different feeders if one is overloaded versus the other. We have been doing that as we see the changes in the demand on each feeder,” he said.
When pressed directly on whether consumers could expect electricity on Christmas Day, Nandlall responded: “Yes, the lights will be on.”
Asked specifically about Boxing Day, he gave the same assurance.
“And Boxing Day,” he said.
While electricity consumption traditionally rises during the Christmas period as homes, businesses and public spaces install decorative lighting, Nandlall said the festive season is not normally GPL’s period of highest demand.
Instead, he said extreme heat is having a much greater impact on electricity consumption.
“Christmas is not really our peak, even though people put on a lot of lights and so on. But the heat has a bigger impact on the demand of electricity than these lights,” he explained.
GPL is currently experiencing historically high electricity demand. Nandlall said peak demand has climbed to about 255 megawatts, compared with approximately 221 MW last year and just 125 MW in 2020.
The company’s customer base has also expanded from approximately 201,000 in 2020 to around 250,000 today, while rapid development in housing, manufacturing, hotels and other businesses has placed further pressure on the electricity system.
The CEO said the existing distribution network has not expanded at the same rate as electricity consumption, leading to overloaded transformers and sections of the network operating under increased pressure.
GPL currently has about 270 MW of available generation on the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System against peak demand of approximately 255 MW, according to Nandlall.
That leaves the company with limited reserve capacity when generating units unexpectedly fail or have to be removed from service.
Nandlall said GPL is therefore looking for additional generation that could be introduced in the short term while the country waits for the Gas-to-Energy project to become fully operational.
“We are currently looking at additional generation. Immediate,” he said.
Among the options being examined are smaller generating units that could be installed at strategic points on the network as well as a larger generating solution.
“We have a number of options,” Nandlall said. The need for additional reserve power is being compounded by scheduled maintenance on GPL’s existing generating fleet.
Nandlall explained that engines must periodically be taken offline for servicing and major overhauls, including after reaching approximately 12,000 operating hours.
“If you do not, then they will trip and they will damage,” he said. Some generating units could therefore have to be taken offline intermittently, potentially every month over the next year.
“That is exactly the reason why, more so, that we have to seek additional interim generating capacity until we have the Gas-to-Energy unit,” Nandlall said.
The first phase of the Gas-to-Energy project is expected to eventually provide 300 MW of additional generating capacity.
