-by Jarryl Bryan
With over 230,000 GPL customers and growing, energy remains a key issue for many Guyanese. This is where the Gas to Energy project comes in, as the government assures that it will begin producing energy this year.
Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, recently delivered this update on the 300MW project, explaining that it will kick in by year end and will equate to about 228 MW of power from the plant.
“We are making sure that we manage the process and make sure that there’s no slippages on the timeline. So by the end of 2026 we expect simple cycle to be kicked in,” he said.
He added that when the two steam turbine aspects of the project become operational soon after, it will then reach the full 300 MW. The Minister further explained that the transmission lines are currently being built out to ensure the power can be distributed.
“We are now building out the transmission line to accommodate the dispatch of that power. We have been doing it for the past couple of years. We have some of the work done in terms of the transmission line to move 230,000 volts from Wales,” the public utilities minister further detailed.
From the control centre, power will be dispatched to the Sophia substation. There, this power will be integrated into a ring circuit and distributed to areas such as Georgetown, the East Bank and Berbice.
Power will also be distributed from Wales on the West Bank of the Demerara to the Vreed-en-Hoop substation to service Region 3. The GTE project includes a combined cycle power plant, a natural liquid gas facility and plans for a fertiliser plant.
It is part of an ambitious energy matrix to diversify Guyana’s electrical power sources, with hydro and solar also being rolled out on a massive scale.