Smart-grid overhaul for GPL, Gov’t eyes second gas plant to meet rising demand
Fresh off his September 1 re-election, President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Tuesday outlined an ambitious plan to modernise Guyana Power and Light (GPL), stating that the utility must “make enormous investments in the smart-grid transformation” backed by strong technical supervision and support.
Speaking at a post-election press conference at the Office of the President in Georgetown, the President said GPL has identified a suite of projects to enhance reliability, reduce losses, and prepare the network for new industrial loads, data centres, and future renewable integration.
Central to the build-out is a transmission and distribution expansion comprising approximately 155 kilometres of double-circuit transmission lines and 343 kilometres of primary distribution lines across Regions Three, Four, Five and Six. The package, he noted, carries a budgeted cost of more than US$400 million.
Complementing this, GPL will construct and upgrade substations equipped with smart distribution gear in Georgetown, Garden of Eden, Kingston, Onverwagt, Edinburgh, Good Hope and Columbia at an estimated cost of more than US$300 million.
The Head of State also flagged a long-standing reliability risk at the Demerara River crossing, saying the submarine/underground cable between Vreed-en-Hoop and the Kingston substation must be better protected and buried deeper to prevent disruption, given the river’s busy traffic and draft.
Furthermore, a new national control centre is planned, alongside the interconnection of Linden with the Demerara–Berbice Interconnected System and the construction of distribution substations at Bamia, Mackenzie and Wismar.
With development accelerating along the Linden–Soesdyke Highway, GPL is finalising plans for transmission and distribution investments across that corridor as well.
Given the scale of the works, President Ali said GPL reviewed supervision options and found traditional consultancy arrangements would exceed US$40 million.
Instead, the utility is negotiating with InterEnergy for a two-year package costing US$15 million to provide technical advisory support and supervision.
The arrangement would cover project management oversight, contract management, smart grid integration, capacity building, and reporting, and, according to the President, deliver “great cost savings” while modernising GPL’s management systems and overhauling operations to boost efficiency and reliability.
Ali tied the grid overhaul to the Gas-to-Energy development, referencing an early assessment visit by the Prime Minister and making clear that “we will have to accelerate work on the second power plant” and “work on a new gas project to Berbice” to meet the energy demands of manufacturing, industry and technology services.
The objective, he said, is to secure energy at the scale and price point needed for Guyana to become “the energy hub in the region” and attract investment that broadens the economy and creates jobs.
Framing the stakes, the President said the investments and partnerships will modernise the electricity system to international standards, strengthen energy security, reliability, and resilience, and enable cost-effective integration of renewables and advanced technologies, resulting in outcomes that support national growth, industrialisation, and environmental sustainability.
