In time, it will come to fruition.

Well the Alliance for Change(AFC) is warning that GPL's proposed 26.7% tariff increase 'will be provoking huge national unrest" and is threatening a wave of protests. The power company recently announced a proposal to increase its electricity rates after the AFC and APNU slashed $5.2B in assistance allocated to it in the 2013 budget.
The AFC in 2012 used similar language when government announced measures aimed at bringing Linden's electricity rates on stream with the rest of the country. It misrepresented an agreement made between the government and A Partnership for National Unity(APNU) and proceeded to incite protests by stating that it was an act of payback for voting against the PPP/C. Three persons lost their lives when police attempted to clear the Mackenzie bridge and this was followed by a wave of robberies, arson and violence and millions of dollars in damages to public and private property.

the joint opposition APNU/AFC can't escape blame for the rise in electricity tariffs, its a direct result of the budget cuts, Guyanese citizens across the political divide are feeling the effects of the APNU/AFC inflicted cuts.

GPL needs the Money – PM on tariff Increase

He says had the company been steadily increasing its tariffs by five percent over the last five years, the figure currently arrived at would not have been so great.

If the increase is given the go-ahead from the public utilities commission the cost per kilowatt hour would increase from 63 dollars to 80 dollars.

The Prime Minister notes too that the cutting of the GPL subsidy by the opposition has brought into focus the need for GPL’s tariff to be self-sustaining.

Indeed the country's electricity is way more expensive at the current rates being charged. GPL needs to increase rates for the following reasons. Now is the time for the rest of the nation to stand up the the afc/pnc and hold them accountable for subsidizing Linden, excusing thieving and passing on the cost to the rest of Guyana. 

And in a 6-point explanation, GPL said that the ‘permitted increase’, can be reviewed against the following:

I.    The Opposition in Parliament has recently cut GPL’s capital budget by over $5.2B, despite available funding from loans provided by Venezuela, China and the IADB. All these loans would be repaid by GPL over a period of time; 

II.    A recent CARILEC report shows GPL residential tariffs to be one of the lowest in the region (with only Trinidad, Suriname, and the Bahamas having lower rates); 

III.    GPL’s last increase in tariffs was announced in 2007 and effected in February 2008, over 5 years ago; the average increase then was 14%, with residential customers facing only 6% and 9% and Government covering a 20% increase; 

IV.    GPL’s fuel cost has risen from a weighted average of US$ 64 /barrel in 2006, to US$108, in 2012; in 2006, GPL’s fuel bill was $12.4 B; in 2012, this had doubled to $24.2 B; in 2012, fuel alone accounted for 83% of GPL’s tariff revenue; 

V.    GPL has delayed implementing full tariff increases (implementing increases in only 2 of the last 10 years), resulting in GPL having foregone revenue of over $21.7 B (after taking account of the $5. 2B to be recovered from the 26.7 % increase.) 

VI.    GPL projects that the Amaila Fall project, expected to start construction at end of 2013, will not be ready until 2017; at which time GPL expects generation costs to be reduced to half of the current version.  The Amaila Falls project is therefore critical to GPL reducing its costs of generation and the impact of fuel costs on increasing tariffs.

Correct -- the pendulum swings both ways.

It takes four to five years to complete these types of projects.

GPL has 39percent electricity loss from thief among other inefficiencies so they can make up their shortfall by becoming an efficient company.

Ashni is again speaking like the liar he is. The PPP has not made a case that electricity will be cheaper even in the short run with the Amalia falls project. To this point, a cursory by any rum-shop mathematician can inform him that the cost per kilowatt hour will exceed any in the hemisphere.

Unless he  do even some Hollywood accounting to inform us on this cheap electric potential he is speaking of he is simply blowing hot air as usual. l

When GPL try to stop the stealing their workers are shot and killed by afc/pnc supporters. There were many instances where this happened in Guyana. The afc/pnc sell propaganda of a land of entitlement where electricity is free. 

...BGurd -See Goads, simply blowing hot air as usual.

I warned you fool and gave you a chance to redeem yourself, now you are blocked yet you follow me around looking for conversation, you poor soul.

gburd the little wimp 

He is happy to play with himself and goadee.

I found one of his pictures and I must say, he looks smashing

GPL is in a tough spot despite what the losers in the AFC/PNC claim. All over the world have this same problem and the fix is not easy. One approach is to install smart meter that can alert the utilities of the theft real time, the target usually are the large customers then gradually down to the poorer folks.  But it all falls apart if the utilities do not take action. There was significant reduction in theft in Dominican Republic and Deli with this strategy however they were unable to stop the theft from the poor neighborhoods. 

guyanese people start using lamp now they inprove and using bottle lamp thanks to the ppp government

Why are we compareing with the DR? is'nt the annual 5 to 7 %  GDP growth put us above and beyond the caribbean and south America according to furtune magazine? Life in Guyana is sweet like sumutoo so we don't need strategy from the likes of poor ass India to fix anything....

the poorer folks that is 80% of guyanese

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who has responsibility for the electricity sector  rejected claims made by the Opposition and other political commentators in sections of the press that the Guyana Power and Light(GPL) is not being properly managed and said that the big cost factor is technical and commercial losses.

The power company has been facing dire financial constraints over the past few years as a result of high technical and commercial losses, and this position has been compounded with the slashing of its $5.2B subsidy by the Parliamentary Opposition during the consideration of the 2013 National budget. As such, it has made a proposal to institute a 26.7 percent tariff increase, which has been submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).  The new rates have not yet taken effect but the GPL Board is actively engaged in planning its implementation.

The Prime Minister said that there has been a lot of pressure on GPL to reduce technical losses; however, this would require significant investments. In preparation for the Amaila Falls Hydropower Plant, many studies have been conducted and one of the consulting groups that were retained by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) noted that GPL needs an investment of US$250M to bring the networks up to the required level. This investment is not within the company’s reach at this time.

It is not a comparison to DR per say but rather a comparison to other nations where stealing electricity have a debilitating effect on the power companies. 

Almost every village in Guyana have electricity thieves who collude with the meter readers. In PNC/AFC neighborhoods like Sophia and Linden, the stealing goes on wholesale and unabated. 

Protests erupt over proposed electricity tariff hike

Several persons took to the streets this afternoon [June 12] in the pouring rain, protesting against the proposed 26.7 percent increase in electricity rates.

Persons were observed protesting outside of the Side Walk Café, Middle Street Georgetown, while the Alliance for Change [AFC] was engaged in a media conference.

The protestors are urging the opposition political parties, including A Partnership for National Unity [APNU] to restore the $5B budget cuts to the Guyana Power and Light [GPL] Inc, so that the tariff would not be increased.

With placards in their hands, the protestors lashed out at the AFC for betraying their supporters by not agreeing to restore the GPL budget cuts.

The AFC has betrayed their supporters. One of their councillor is alleged in police custody as posted in another thread here.

Do you really trust the AFC ? Most Guyanese now pour scorn on the AFC, the PNC footstool.

More and more I believe that should a snap elections take place today the AFC/PNC dogs would be sent packing. 

OP rent-a -picket exercise . . . yaaaaaaaaaaaawwwn

kwamee earning his keep

Whether the election is held soon or at the end of its term, the PNC cum AFC will be reduced in their number of seats.

D_G dutifully ups his post count in fine 'conscience' style

Why not at Brazzingon's feet? Is he not the multitalented gentleman the PPP has at the head of its dubious financial schemes? When will the PPP ever get right with the world and offer even a Raganesque "mistakes were made"? Apparently, it is always others who are to blame for their failings. Meanwhile, insubstantial cronies populate every niche where failure is occurring. Obviously these are not failures but practice. Geeta singh KNight can do no wrong. We have her on once again on the board of the failing Sugar industry not to mention an man who never managed a cakeshop planted firmly at the Chairman position. Do not blame anyone. Blame yourselves.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) have overtime displayed a very duplicitous habit of speaking from both sides of their mouth. A case which proves this point is their attitude toward GPL's proposal to hike electricity rates by 26.7%.  Everyone knows that Linden went through a rough patch – especially the government which has subsidised electricity there for over a decade. With the improvement in the area due to the revival of bauxite’s fortunes and also the explosion in gold mining, the government suggested a phased withdrawal of the electricity subsidy. After opposition protests, deaths and billions going up in smoke, the subsidy remained in place – causing other Guyanese to resent “favouritism” for Lindeners. This was exacerbated when the requested subsidy for GPL – to stave off an increase in the coastal tariffs – was slashed by the opposition.The reasons given were that the company was being mismanaged and that management is incompetent in dealing with the issues affecting the company's viability.

The forked tongue of the opposition was revealed in an incident that concerned management of the electricity in Linden. Linden’s electricity is produced by Bosai and then sold at the nominal rates to Lindeners through the Linden Utility Services Cooperative Ltd (LUSCL). But while the opposition have found all sorts of fault with the management of GPL, they have always given a free pass to LUSCL. Why? Not surprisingly because they’re considered as opposition supporters. Take the latest incident about which the opposition have been struck dumb. Even though the LUSCL management committee had voted down a request to purchase a tractor, Mortimer Mingo went ahead and purchased one from abroad. Mingo just happens to be the old decades-long People’s National Congress (PNC) chairman for Region 10. He even ignored local bids for tractors when he made, paid, and later cleared the foreign tractor at a cost of over $6 million. Now we believe that what’s sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander and not different strokes for different folks. Can the opposition be a little more subtle in their biases and sacred cows?

Brassington is like asking the labaria for an antidote to its poison. One of these days he will grace the insides of our prison.

AFC offices countrywide attracting protests in which the protesters are calling on them to restore the slashed G.P.L subsidy.

Maybe you will grace the inside of a prison, if you haven't done so yet, for slander. You have become rabid, making these vindictive accusations without evidence. 

Brassinton brothers should be jailed for insider trading.

why this fool follow me around when I don't see his post? Its like pissing in the wind, ahahaha