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Former Member

AFC wants regulatory body to probe GPL - warns of national unrest if tariffs hike imposed

June 11, 2013, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source

The weekend announcement by Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) to increase electricity rates by 26.7 per cent effective May, has prompted warnings from the Opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) that it could trigger “huge national unrest”.

The development has also seen the government party blaming the Parliamentary Opposition for exacerbating the financial situation at GPL with a $5.2B budget cut in April to its capital programs.

GPL’s Chairman, Winston Brassington

The AFC is now demanding that the regulatory, Public Utility Commission (PUC), investigate GPL’s call for the rate hike and hear other stakeholders interested in the matter before it orders or ratifies any increases by GPL.

“Electricity increases by GPL comes under the jurisdiction of the PUC, and this regulatory body must not exhibit itself as a toothless poodle. The AFC would like to warn the PPP Government, that this highly ill-advised and unjustified act on the part of GPL, will be provoking huge national unrest,” AFC said in a statement yesterday.

The Opposition party which together with A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), has a one-seat majority in the National Assembly, used that advantage in April to block $5.2B from GPL’s $10.2B Government subvention. The monies reportedly represent draw-downs from loans to repair GPL’s aging network and an electricity subsidy from government. GPL said that it faced severe losses totalling billions of dollars last year because of soaring fuel costs.

The Opposition in blocking the monies for GPL had said that not sufficient reasons were put forward on how the monies will be spent. The Opposition also said that it was not convinced that GPL has done enough to reduce its commercial and technical losses which account for over 30 per cent of its production.

Resist it!
The proposed hike in electricity rates by the state-controlled GPL “must be vigorously resisted by the Guyanese people. After in excess of 20 years in office, the PPP Government has consistently failed to provide reliable electricity to this nation. Even after spending billions of dollars every year through loans and prohibitively high prices on new generating capacity, it is vividly clear that the Government has no solution in sight in the context of its statutory duty to provide electricity at an affordable cost,” AFC said yesterday.

The Opposition party said that despite the abundance of alternative sources of energy in Guyana, including wind, solar and hydro potential, the Guyanese people continue to suffer hourly blackouts with repeated adverse effects on homeowners’ appliances and goods, business-owners’ production equipment and school children’s education.

AFC said that GPL’s Board of Directors, comprising the “familiar square pegs in round holes and soup-drinkers”, has yet to devise a turnaround plan after so many years in office.

“In fact were they in the private sector or in a state entity in any other country, they would have long been fired for incompetence. First to go would have been its Chairman, Winston Brassington. But their loyalty to known PPP powers gives them a licence to pass on their inefficiencies to an already heavily burdened taxpayer.”

Board must go
AFC demanded that the entire board be replaced with competent and independent professionals.

“Whatever is keeping Mr. Brassington and his team at GPL in the face of chronic failure and incompetence, has broken the tolerance limit of all in Guyana.”

However, the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has said that it is concerned with the recent application by GPL to PUC for the 26.7 per cent hike in tariffs. PPP made it clear that it is the fault of the AFC/APNU alliance which combined to slash $5.2B from the 2013 National Budget that was “allocated by Government to GPL to prevent consumers having to face such a burden.”

PPP said that the cut was despite several pleas by Government, the management of GPL, other stakeholders and the party itself for the AFC and APNU to refrain from cutting GPL’s subsidy but “they ignored this and went ahead; fully aware of the consequences it would have on consumers. The Opposition cannot pretend to be ignorant of the challenges and what is being done to correct them by the GPL’s management as all this information has been presented to both the AFC and APNU.”

The ruling party said that what continues to boggle the mind is that while the Opposition is making excuses to deny consumers along the coast the benefit of such subsidies from Government; “they did not display this level of concern when they approved the subsidies Government had also set aside for Region 10 to the tune of close to $3B.

On Saturday, GPL said it lost $7.6 B in 2012. It last increased tariffs in 2007.

The 26.7 per cent increase in tariffs will help GPL to recover from its deficit position, the statement said.

GPL, in highlighting the fuel costs problem, said prices have risen from a weighted average of US$64/barrel in 2006, to US$108, in 2012. In 2006, GPL’s fuel bill was $12.4B while in 2012, this doubled to $24.2B.

Last year, fuel alone accounted for 83 per cent of GPL’s tariff revenue.

“GPL has delayed implementing full tariff increases implementing increases in only two of the last 10 years, resulting in GPL having foregone revenue of over $21.7 B, after taking account of the $5.2 B to be recovered from the 26.7 % increase.”

The power company said that the fuel situation is not likely to change until 2017 when the Amaila Falls hydro project is expected to be completed and generation costs will be reduced to half of what is the situation now.

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Former Member

Originally Posted by Demerara_Guy:

AFC wants regulatory body to probe GPL - warns of national unrest if tariffs hike imposed

June 11, 2013, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source

6/11/139:24 AM

Former Member

The aFC need to acknowledge all the illegal connections across Guyana, especially in afc/pnc areas.

Cop electrocuted : -while chasing prison escapee in Sophia
Written by Leroy Smith
Monday, 10 June 2013 21:38
POLICE Constable 21600 Dorwin Pitman of 23 North Road, Georgetown lost his life yesterday morning when he was tripped up by a wire illegally connected to the GPL feeder in the North Sophia community and was electrocuted in the process. This most unfortunate incident occurred just after 7am, as the 23-year-old policeman was closely pursuing a detainee who had successfully made a dash for his freedom from the police outpost at Prashad Nagar. This publication was informed that the detainee, Ackeem Edwards, who is said to be in his mid-thirties, has been in police custody throughout the weekend, having been arrested and charged for being in possession of an offensive weapon, possession of cannabis, and waiting to commit a felony; and when Constable Pitman opened the door of the lockups to take the detainee out to escort him to court, Edwards made a dash for his freedom, with the police man hot on his trail.
Being a resident of North Sophia, Edwards ran into that community and began using several cross streets and short cuts in his bid to elude the pursuing policeman. He then ran through an alleyway with the police officer still on his trail. Not familiar with the lay of the land, the policeman reportedly tripped and fell on the illegally connected wire and was electrocuted. He reportedly died on the spot.
When the Guyana Chronicle visited the Prashad Nagar Police Outpost yesterday morning, ranks were deeply moved by the news of Pitman’s sudden demise. Phones rank off the hook, and senior uniformed and CID ranks kept popping into the station.
North Sophia residents poured onto the streets to glimpse the policeman’s body as it lay on the ground with the illegal connection still attached between the GPL pole and a house in the area. One woman who said she was a member of the Community Policing Group claimed she received a call from the commander of A Division informing the group to mobilize, since they had a situation in the area in which a rank was giving chase to an escapee of the Prashad Nagar Police Outpost. The woman said that by the time they were able to get their act together, the tragic situation was already upon them.
She added that while she received the call from the commander at just about 8am yesterday morning, she was informed that the policeman had been chasing after the escapee since just after 7am. The woman was of the view that had the CPG received the call earlier, they might have been able to intercept the fleeing prisoner.
The illegal connection
When the Chronicle visited the area yesterday morning, the police were conducting their investigations, and personnel from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) were busy severing illegal connections and seizing cables which stretched several metres across drains and bridges, and ran through yards to the home of a resident in the area.
Yesterday as GPL employees were busy severing the illegal wire from the pole, located on the main road in the community, the police were busy trailing the wire within the North Sophia community. Persons in the area were heard commenting on the death of the policeman while expressing frustration at the wanton theft of electricity in the area.
North Sophia residents are of the view that GPL needs to visit the area and conduct campaigns to rig the community of all illegal connections. However, despite those calls, the wire which took the young policeman’s life had not been concealed, as it ran from the pole to the house, visible for all to see, giving the impression that persons in the area were fully aware of the illegal connection and where it led.
Last Friday, a GPL team went into another part of Sophia, where they pointed out the number of illegal connections which were seen running from power poles to various structures in that community. The power company’s visit was to introduce a new form of metering, especially for that community, which the power company feels is responsible for the loss of millions due to electricity theft.
However theft of electricity seems to be a habit practiced by even the people who are responsible for prosecuting alleged offenders. Last Saturday, 33-year-old police rank Mark Smith of ‘D’ Field, Sophia lost his home and all his belongings in a fire; and it was both discovered and confirmed that that policeman’s home had been well fitted with an illegal connection running from a GPL pole. The pole was situated in front of the man’s home, and a telephone wire had been used to take the power from the pole to his home.
Speaking with this publication on Saturday and not knowing where the interview would lead, the policeman had confidently claimed that his home was fitted with all amenities, including surround sound system, television, microwave, one fridge, one freezer and other appliances.