More energy will not stop blackouts; redundancy will – GPL Head

…as Govt seeks additional power generation ahead of GtE start-up

Though the Gas-to-Energy (GtE) Project is expected to add some 57 megawatts (MW) of power to the grid by year-end, the Government is seeking additional generation in the interim to meet growing demand. This is according to Team Leader of the Executive Management Committee of the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) Kesh Nandlall, during an interview on the Starting Point podcast on Sunday. The GtE Project is set to come onstream by the end of this year, delivering some 57 MW of electricity while the remaining power will be delivered by the first half of 2027. But Nandlall said due to the growing demand and pressures on the grid, the Government is seeking additional power generation immediately. “We are currently looking at additional generation immediate, immediate…we are considering smaller units to plug in at the ends. And we are also considering a bigger solution. We have a number of options,” the GPL Head said. Nandlall did not disclose what are the options being pursued or how many MW of power is being sought. In an invited comment to this publication, he said whatever route is chosen must be capable of delivering power immediately. Peak demand currently stands at 255 MW, with a customer base of approximately 250,000. GPL’s generating capacity is about 270 MW.

The interim power being sought is expected to play a significant role in meeting increased demand during the upcoming Christmas period. Another reason for the need for interim generation is to meet demand when existing generating sets are taken offline for maintenance.