President Dr. Irfaan Ali has described the current level of power interruptions at the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) as “unacceptable,” warning that electricity demand is growing at a pace far beyond regional norms and could increase by another 138 per cent by 2029.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, the Head of State said the Government has received a report from InterEnergy examining the challenges facing GPL and the investments required to build a more reliable electricity system.
According to the President, peak demand on the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System climbed from approximately 205 megawatts in 2024 to 242.6 megawatts in August 2026, an increase of about 18 per cent.
By comparison, Ali said electricity demand across much of Latin America and the Caribbean typically grows by around three to four per cent.
“The system just cannot respond to this demand,” the President said, pointing to expanding industries, new hotels, housing developments and increased migration to the national grid.
The interconnected system currently serves about 230,000 customers. But the challenge is expected to become even greater.
Ali said the InterEnergy analysis projects electricity demand could grow by approximately 138 per cent by 2029, meaning Guyana would require more than twice its current electricity supply within the next several years.
GPL is also expected to add more than 62,000 customers as new homes, businesses and industries connect to the grid.
The President said the rapid expansion has left GPL with little room to take generating units offline for routine maintenance, especially in Essequibo because available capacity is already being heavily utilised.
That means an equipment failure can have consequences across the wider system.
“If anything goes wrong there, the entire system shuts down,” Ali said, describing the situation as a “critical issue.”
Ali also disclosed that the cost of imported fuels used for electricity generation has increased sharply since the beginning of the year. He said the import cost of refined products such as gasoline has risen by 51 per cent, while diesel used for generation has increased by 86.8 per cent.
However, he said those increases have not been passed on to GPL customers because the Government has increased subsidies to absorb the additional costs.
According to Ali, the Finance Ministry is now working to find “tens of billions of dollars” in additional funding to help GPL meet rising fuel costs while avoiding higher electricity charges for consumers.
While acknowledging that no electricity system can completely eliminate unexpected outages, Ali said the current level of interruptions cannot continue.
“We cannot promise that there will never be another interruption. Every modern electricity system can experience unexpected equipment failure, but not what we are having now. Unacceptable,” he said.
The President said the Government is undertaking what he described as the largest transformation of Guyana’s electricity infrastructure in the country’s history.
More than 360 kilometres of new high-voltage transmission lines are being constructed, while more than 10 new substations are planned, four existing substations are being expanded and two mobile substations are being added.
Works also include 155 kilometres of 230-kilovolt double-circuit transmission lines, upgrades to the 69-kilovolt network and a 2.5-kilometre underground river connection between Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston.
GPL is also pursuing grid modernisation, upgrades to the Guyana National Control Centre, advanced metering and battery energy storage.
Ali said additional generation expected from the Gas-to-Energy project should also increase capacity and reduce the country’s reliance on conventional generation exposed to volatile international fuel prices.
Among the recommendations contained in the InterEnergy report is the establishment of an independent grid reliability task force.
