Berbice recorded 157 blackouts last year
January 6, 2012 | By KNews | Filed Under News
-65 less than 2010
In 2011, there were 157 blackouts compared to 222 in 2010, a reduction of 65 power outages last year in the Berbice area. According to Branch Manager of the Guyana Power & Light Inc (GPL), Ayube Bacchus, while this in no way is a desirable situation, the state of affairs can be credited to the high level of maintenance carried out by the company.
“These reductions are due to our planned maintenance programme and that is really the drive behind it, (the reduction) to ensure that our work programme is achieved each year for the Transmission & Distribution (T&D) as well as our generation,” he explained.
However he explained that the short but frequent power outages over the past couple of days and during the Christmas week was caused by problems that developed with the facility’s engine protections.
GPL Berbice Operations Manager, Mr Ayube Bacchus
Bacchus noted that the situation was corrected on Wednesday morning and the unit should be back on line shortly.
Bacchus mentioned some positive developments in GPL’s Berbice Operations last year, including the commissioning of the five Megawatt Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) generator at Canefield in November.
He referred to that as “very significant in helping to reduce some of the [power] outages.”
The machine was first commissioned using Light Fuel Oil but was later converted to HFO use. While HFO consumes less energy, maintenance costs usually go up, Bacchus stated.
The rehabilitation and rebuilding of the sister unit at the Canefield Power Station, the Number four Unit, is about 80 per cent complete and all works are scheduled to be finished by the first quarter of this year, first on LFO followed by HFO.
“We are working assiduously to bring the outages down, but there are challenges out there. Yes, things like weather conditions, which are very challenging to us in some areas and also our vegetation management,” he said.
However, Bacchus said, the company has made inroads in those areas.
The GPL Branch Manager added that GPL in Berbice will be contracting out certain services such as road clearing and vegetation clearing, so that the technical teams can have more time to dedicate to the T&D network.
“We will be able to spend more time on the network; that is what we have planned for this year”, he noted.
Generation specifics
This year, another five Megawatts will be brought into the system, “which will significantly bring generation to an achievable level”.
As it stands, the Canefield Power Station generates some 11.5 Megawatts of electricity through the Caterpillar units and the Mirlees Blackstone Unit. At Onverwagt, there are seven Megawatts from two General Motor Units and two Caterpillar Units. Bacchus revealed that at the Skeldon Sugar Factory, there are four Megawatts being generated during the out-of-crop season and “as much as six to seven Megawatts during grinding season.”
He lauded the Skeldon Factory for boosting power supply in the Region and being “very supportive to the grid and that is a big plus.”
Berbice has a daytime demand of 12 Megawatts and a peak demand of “as high as 18.3”.
Bacchus noted the increasing demand for new services as well, such as new housing schemes.
“In 2012, we project to have a modest increase in load demand by 3 ½ per cent, due to new customers and new schemes coming on stream.”
Customers in Berbice can expect an improvement in customer service in 2012, he assured. “That is an area we need to improve on, because we want to reach out more to the customers out there,” he posited.
The company wants to “improve on that image and we want to reach out more and do more in-house training, how staff interact with the public”
In addressing a matter at Reliance East Canje, whereby nearly 25 residents had complained of damage to their household appliances due to low-voltage in the area during last week, the Regional Manager stated that the matter is being dealt with by the company. He noted that affected persons must verify ownership of the appliances they claim are damaged and then the power company will act accordingly. “If they cannot produce the receipts, in terms of establishing ownership of purchase, there are avenues we can look into that we will take into consideration. It is a due process,” he noted.
Angoy’s Avenue
He stated that the company cannot go in the Angoy’s Avenue area to provide services, since going in there would mean “breaking the law”. The New Haven Co-op Society filed an injunction to the Guyana Government 11 years ago and since then there have been a lot of barriers to further development of the area.
“We gotta be careful not to break the law,” he noted. Residents in Angoy’s Avenue, he said, have to meet the requirements before electricity can be provided, and that is “proof of legal occupancy, whether you have a title or transport” and the area has to be legalized.
A number of persons today have electricity in the area, since they received power under the Electricity Reform Act of October 1999 (ESRAC), before the injunction was filed. However, the area has become more populated in recent times with a heavy influx of residents who want electricity and telephone services.
“GPL is willing to supply electricity to consumers. We have that mandate and want to discharge it but customers will have to keep their side of the requirement by bringing to us, you know, the required, necessary paperwork that would legalize them to the entitlement of the service,” he noted. He is hoping the matter could be resolved soon.
He urged customers to desist from tampering with the meters. “It’s not worth it. It is very dangerous, because when we catch up and we have hard evidence, the law allows us to go 24 months down the road to back- bill,” he noted. He asked customers who are having financial problems to go into the company and they will work out a payment plan.
January 6, 2012 | By KNews | Filed Under News
-65 less than 2010
In 2011, there were 157 blackouts compared to 222 in 2010, a reduction of 65 power outages last year in the Berbice area. According to Branch Manager of the Guyana Power & Light Inc (GPL), Ayube Bacchus, while this in no way is a desirable situation, the state of affairs can be credited to the high level of maintenance carried out by the company.
“These reductions are due to our planned maintenance programme and that is really the drive behind it, (the reduction) to ensure that our work programme is achieved each year for the Transmission & Distribution (T&D) as well as our generation,” he explained.
However he explained that the short but frequent power outages over the past couple of days and during the Christmas week was caused by problems that developed with the facility’s engine protections.
GPL Berbice Operations Manager, Mr Ayube Bacchus
Bacchus noted that the situation was corrected on Wednesday morning and the unit should be back on line shortly.
Bacchus mentioned some positive developments in GPL’s Berbice Operations last year, including the commissioning of the five Megawatt Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) generator at Canefield in November.
He referred to that as “very significant in helping to reduce some of the [power] outages.”
The machine was first commissioned using Light Fuel Oil but was later converted to HFO use. While HFO consumes less energy, maintenance costs usually go up, Bacchus stated.
The rehabilitation and rebuilding of the sister unit at the Canefield Power Station, the Number four Unit, is about 80 per cent complete and all works are scheduled to be finished by the first quarter of this year, first on LFO followed by HFO.
“We are working assiduously to bring the outages down, but there are challenges out there. Yes, things like weather conditions, which are very challenging to us in some areas and also our vegetation management,” he said.
However, Bacchus said, the company has made inroads in those areas.
The GPL Branch Manager added that GPL in Berbice will be contracting out certain services such as road clearing and vegetation clearing, so that the technical teams can have more time to dedicate to the T&D network.
“We will be able to spend more time on the network; that is what we have planned for this year”, he noted.
Generation specifics
This year, another five Megawatts will be brought into the system, “which will significantly bring generation to an achievable level”.
As it stands, the Canefield Power Station generates some 11.5 Megawatts of electricity through the Caterpillar units and the Mirlees Blackstone Unit. At Onverwagt, there are seven Megawatts from two General Motor Units and two Caterpillar Units. Bacchus revealed that at the Skeldon Sugar Factory, there are four Megawatts being generated during the out-of-crop season and “as much as six to seven Megawatts during grinding season.”
He lauded the Skeldon Factory for boosting power supply in the Region and being “very supportive to the grid and that is a big plus.”
Berbice has a daytime demand of 12 Megawatts and a peak demand of “as high as 18.3”.
Bacchus noted the increasing demand for new services as well, such as new housing schemes.
“In 2012, we project to have a modest increase in load demand by 3 ½ per cent, due to new customers and new schemes coming on stream.”
Customers in Berbice can expect an improvement in customer service in 2012, he assured. “That is an area we need to improve on, because we want to reach out more to the customers out there,” he posited.
The company wants to “improve on that image and we want to reach out more and do more in-house training, how staff interact with the public”
In addressing a matter at Reliance East Canje, whereby nearly 25 residents had complained of damage to their household appliances due to low-voltage in the area during last week, the Regional Manager stated that the matter is being dealt with by the company. He noted that affected persons must verify ownership of the appliances they claim are damaged and then the power company will act accordingly. “If they cannot produce the receipts, in terms of establishing ownership of purchase, there are avenues we can look into that we will take into consideration. It is a due process,” he noted.
Angoy’s Avenue
He stated that the company cannot go in the Angoy’s Avenue area to provide services, since going in there would mean “breaking the law”. The New Haven Co-op Society filed an injunction to the Guyana Government 11 years ago and since then there have been a lot of barriers to further development of the area.
“We gotta be careful not to break the law,” he noted. Residents in Angoy’s Avenue, he said, have to meet the requirements before electricity can be provided, and that is “proof of legal occupancy, whether you have a title or transport” and the area has to be legalized.
A number of persons today have electricity in the area, since they received power under the Electricity Reform Act of October 1999 (ESRAC), before the injunction was filed. However, the area has become more populated in recent times with a heavy influx of residents who want electricity and telephone services.
“GPL is willing to supply electricity to consumers. We have that mandate and want to discharge it but customers will have to keep their side of the requirement by bringing to us, you know, the required, necessary paperwork that would legalize them to the entitlement of the service,” he noted. He is hoping the matter could be resolved soon.
He urged customers to desist from tampering with the meters. “It’s not worth it. It is very dangerous, because when we catch up and we have hard evidence, the law allows us to go 24 months down the road to back- bill,” he noted. He asked customers who are having financial problems to go into the company and they will work out a payment plan.
All you does talk pupsy.
