GPL operating on razor-thin reserve

(Kaieteur News) – Former Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson has warned that the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) is operating with a razor-thin spinning reserve, leaving the national electricity grid vulnerable to failures and cascading outages.

Patterson made the disclosure during a recent episode of Sources- a NewsSource programme hosted Journalist, Svetlana Marshall. Patterson explained that a properly functioning power grid should maintain between 15% and 20% of its peak generating capacity as spinning reserve.

Spinning reserve refers to generating units that are connected to the grid but are not producing electricity at full capacity. They remain available to be brought online immediately if a generating unit supplying the system fails.