Amaila Falls Hydropower Project

– threatens nationwide campaign to expose Govt’s lies – says Project would have saved GPL billions of US dollars

In continuing to represent and underscore the merit and deservedness of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition is once again urging the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU/AFC) administration to put politics aside, accept that the initiative would indeed significantly benefit the entire Guyanese populace, and to now act fast to capitalise on the prevailingly low oil prices on the international market to pursue the development of this project.

If government continues to remain steadfast to its stance that the project is too expensive to embark upon, the PPP/C Opposition is challenging the administration to a face to face discussion about Amaila Falls where each party will present its contentions, based on reason and globally credible analysis.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan had asserted it would be “criminal” to pursue the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project as it would be too costly a venture for the government to embark upon. The Minister stated that Amaila Falls will cost GPL US$2.6 billion over 20 years (US$130 million per year) and that this was too unreasonable.

On the other hand, the PPP/C maintains the Minister is absolutely inaccurate in his calculations.

In exposing the facts and offering clarification, the PPP/C pointed out that in actuality GPL will be saving billions of dollars: First of all, GPL would have been required to pay US$100 million and not US$130 million per year. Secondly, that money would have bought about 50 per cent more power than GPL’s entire generation in 2012. Therefore, to generate that amount of power without Amaila Falls would have cost GPL far more money, almost US$200 million using 2012 costs.

So rather than Amaila costing GPL US$130 million per year, it would be saving GPL US$100 million per year – or put in another way, Amaila Falls will generate 50 per cent more electricity than was generated in 2012 for almost half the cost.

“In short: Instead of Amaila Falls costing GPL US$2.6 billion over 20 years, GPL would actually be saving almost US$2 billion, or G$400 billion, at 2012 prices,” the PPP/C highlighted.

If government confirms its willingness to participate in the conversational forum on Amaila, the PPP/C said it will explain in detail how these savings can enable the costs of electricity to be dramatically reduced for Guyanese, and we will explain how after 20 years, the Amaila Falls Hydropower facility will be wholly owned by the citizens of Guyana without any debt being incurred.

The PPP/C explained that this discussion on Amaila Falls would truly help Guyanese to understand the project for themselves and form their own conclusions of the nature of the initiative.

The PPP/C is also offering the government assistance in improving their understanding of the project.

If, on the other hand, government refuses to join with the PPP/C in this forum, the Party will take its discussion on electricity prices, the cost of living, and the benefits of Amaila Falls to the people of Guyana, village by village.

Set the record straight Meanwhile, the PPP/C insisted that the Finance Minister should come clean and set the record straight by apologising for his erroneous remarks on the cost of Amaila on GPL (whether or not it was a genuine or deliberate error).

The Party is calling on the government to publicly state the net gains to GPL over the first 20 years of its operations and to accept his claim that Amaila Falls would cost GPL US$2.6 billion was wrong.

Additionally, the Finance Minister had disclosed that government’s plan to not proceed with Amaila Falls was “strongly supported by the experts at the Inter-American Development Bank, who had considered the project to be too risky to attract the Bank’s financing.”

The Opposition is contending that this is also incorrect and is calling on Cabinet to confirm that they did not in fact receive any communications from the IDB confirming that the project was not feasible.

The PPP/C made it clear that it will not stand idly by while lies are being spread about the best chance Guyanese will have for generations to come to access affordable, clean and reliable electricity.

“It is not the Amaila Falls Project which is the “criminal deception”. It is the Government’s willingness to mislead the public in pursuit of dubious political ends. This deception will condemn Guyanese to many more years of expensive electricity prices, and is already damaging the competiveness of our private sector and our overall economy. It must be viewed against the backdrop of APNU and AFC Government Ministers awarding themselves a 50 per cent pay rise while also receiving free electricity,” PPP/C stated.

Amaila The Amaila Falls Hydropower Project is the flagship of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The project was expected to deliver electricity to Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, and its second largest town, Linden, by an electric transmission line.

Guyana currently relies on imported fuel oil and diesel for its electricity generation, which is both expensive and carbon-intensive. The Amaila Hydropower plant was expected to shift Guyana’s reliance on thermal generation to renewable energy, eliminate over 90 per cent of the country’s energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, provide energy production for approximately 90 per cent of Guyana’s population.

In addition, it would improve Guyana’s balance of payments by significantly reducing the importation of fuel, significantly reduce end-user costs for electricity, and improve reliability of energy supply and generation of clean energy, which would help to encourage economic growth and development by improving regional competitiveness, private sector investment, and foreign direct investment.