The Government is investing more than US$722 million in transmission lines, substations and related infrastructure as part of a major effort to strengthen the Guyana Power and Light Inc. grid and reduce widespread power disruptions.
Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar, appearing on the Starting Point Podcast, said the country’s electricity challenges are no longer simply about generating enough power, but about moving that power safely and reliably across the national grid.
“Right now, I think over 722 million US is invested in the transmission lines to move that power,” Indar said, explaining that the investment includes new transmission infrastructure, upgraded substations and a modern control centre.
According to the minister, GPL inherited a fragile system in 2020, with around 99 megawatts of available power against peak demand of approximately 117 megawatts. Since then, he said, the Government has added between 160 and 170 megawatts of reliable power to meet rising demand.
Indar said GPL’s customer base has also grown significantly, moving from around 180,000 customers in 2020 to more than 244,500 customers, driven by new housing schemes, commercial expansion, hotels, apartments, warehouses and other major developments.
“The demand fluctuates very quickly because you have a whole host of customers that are coming on the system,” he said.
The minister said current peak demand has reached about 228 megawatts, while GPL has approximately 267 megawatts available. He noted that recent outages are largely linked to weaknesses and interruptions in the transmission system, rather than a lack of generation capacity.
“Blackouts, if you had it, was never because of generation issues. It became issues relating to the transmission line now,” Indar said.
He explained that the national grid depends on high-voltage transmission lines and substations to move electricity across the country before it is stepped down for homes and businesses. However, he said interference from construction equipment, trucks and other external factors can cause major shutdowns when the system protects itself from damage.
Indar said the Government is now building new transmission lines capable of moving bulk power from the Gas-to-Energy project at Wales across the coastland. The power will be raised from 69,000 volts to 230,000 volts to allow for more efficient movement along the grid.
“This transmission line is being built straight up to Williamsburg up in Corentyne, and then in the Georgetown area,” the minister said.
He said the power will move from Wales to several key points, including Vreed-en-Hoop, Georgetown and other areas, while future transmission upgrades are planned for Linden and Region Three.
A major part of the upgrade is the construction of a new control centre near Eccles, which Indar described as the “new brain” of the system. He said the building has already been constructed and equipment for the SCADA system has arrived.
“All of the SCADA equipment is here. We’ll have that done by August,” he said.
The minister said the control centre will help manage power distribution more efficiently, especially as the Gas-to-Energy project comes on stream.
Another key component is the replacement of the existing under-river cable between Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston. Indar said the current line can only move about seven megawatts of power and also affects dredging in the Demerara River because of where the cable is positioned.
He said a new line will be placed approximately 25 metres below the riverbed and will be able to move between 180 and 200 megawatts.
“So we are putting in a line down there that we’re going to move between 180 to 200 megawatts under there,” Indar said.
He added that this will help create a ring system, allowing power to be rerouted if there is a blockage or fault in one area.
“So if power is blocked in one way, reroutes the other way. So that is what we’ve been building,” he said.
Indar also linked the transmission upgrade to the Gas-to-Energy project, which is expected to significantly increase generation capacity. He said the project will include four Siemens turbines, each producing 57 megawatts, for a total of 228 megawatts in the first phase. Two steam turbines are expected to later push output to 300 megawatts.
The minister said once the Gas-to-Energy project is fully integrated into the grid, the country should benefit from cheaper and more stable electricity.
“Once gas to energy comes on board, you will find that,” he said, referring to improved reliability and reduced instability in the system.
Indar said the Government is also investing in protection systems, including faster relays and fibre-optic-supported technology, to help isolate faults and prevent countrywide shutdowns when a problem occurs in one area.
He noted that while some outages are unavoidable during critical upgrades and changeovers, the long-term objective is to build a stronger grid that can support Guyana’s rapid growth.
The minister said the scale of work underway reflects the Government’s effort to prepare the electricity sector for rising demand from households, businesses, industries and major infrastructure projects.
“We’ve never had that before,” Indar said of the ring-type transmission system now being developed.
