Months after being sold to a special purpose company – Skeldon Energy Incorporated (SEI) – the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is in the process of making attempts to reverse the US$30M sale of its energy assets at Skeldon and its complementary Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
This was confirmed by Chairman of GuySuCo Dr. Clive Thomas, yesterday, who underscored how critical a role the energy assets would play in the future operations of GuySuCo. Thomas also disclosed that former Chief Executive Officer of the sugar corporation Rajendra Singh had agreed with the PPP administration to sell the energy assets without the consent of the board. Singh was fired from GuySuCo.
In early April of this year, Executive Director of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, had announced that the GuySuCo energy assets at Skeldon, along with the PPA – between the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and GuySuCo – had been transferred to the Skeldon Energy Inc. This had followed approval by the then (People’s Progressive Party) Cabinet.
The new company – Skeldon Energy Inc. would be jointly owned by GPL and NICIL and was expected to be managed by Wartsila Guyana Inc. The company is funded by equity financing of US$9M and debt financing to the tune of US$21M, secured from local and international financial institutions.
According to Brassington at that time, “Expected benefits of the restructuring of the Skeldon energy assets include: The enhancement of the generating capacity of the Skeldon WÄrtsilÄ and Bagasse, co-generation power plants; provide GPL and GuySuCo with a stable and reliable source of power generation and relieve GuySuCo of the responsibility of managing power generation; provide US$30 million of capital resources to GuySuCo; secure, stabilise and expand the power-generating capacity located at Skeldon, as part of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (OBIS) power grid, by increasing energy supplied to the grid by 50 per cent by the end of 2016 and almost 100 per cent by 2019.”
He had further explained that the power-generating assets consist primarily of three Wartsila power plants with an installed capacity of 10 MegaWatts (MW) and a Co-Generation Bagasse Plant with an installed capacity of 30MW. However, Wartsila had agreed to inject US3M to bring the Co-Generation plant and the other three power plants to its (Wartsila’s) standards. Rehabilitation, operation and management of the combined power plants were to be effective April 1, 2015 with the money being refinanced over time.
Contacted on the issue on Tuesday Dr Thomas, who was appointed after the sale was made earlier this year, explained that the decision to sell the power plant was made by the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Raj Singh, without the consent of GuySuCo’s board. But despite approximately GYD$1B being paid to GuySuCo through the sale agreement thus far, the need for the power plant to aid in GuySuCo’s development remains great, Dr. Thomas said. Additionally, he disclosed that he was made aware that GPL was receiving power under this arrangement at an “unconscionably low rate” which he deemed to be “unacceptable.”
As a result, the chairman reiterated the need for GuySuCo to re-acquire this power plant which 90,000 Berbicians currently benefit from. “So as a result of this, the board made a decision last Thursday to retrieve this power plant… the process is still in its preliminary stages since it was only Thursday the decision was made, but the minister was written to, and we are anticipating a favourable response,” Dr. Thomas told this publication yesterday. But the long-term aim of this move, he revealed, is to aid in the rebuilding of GuySuCo and an attempt at restoring normalcy at a corporation which has suffered tremendously. The chairman also hinted at the possibility of Skeldon Energy Incorporated dissolving, and NICIL assuming the responsibilities of the company. However, a definitive decision in that regard has not been taken.
By Ravin Singh