By Saskia Warrick | January 7, 2025
Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, revealed that a significant cause of power outages in 2024 was vehicular collisions, which accounted for 96% of the incidents.
Despite Guyana Power & Light (GPL) having an excess generating capacity, these accidents have continued to impact the stability of the electrical supply.
Minister Indar explained that the damage caused by these vehicular collisions to GPL infrastructure has led to widespread disruptions.
In response, the ministry has instructed GPL to pursue legal action against those responsible for the accidents and to recover the associated repair costs.
In addition to addressing the issue of vehicle collisions, Minister Indar noted that scheduled maintenance would be carried out across the country.
With GPL’s current peak demand at 205 megawatts and a capacity of 267 megawatts, thanks to a second power ship, the government is ensuring that maintenance works will not result in power outages for customers during this period.
The increase in generating capacity is a key part of the government’s ongoing efforts to improve the reliability of the country’s electricity supply.