CREATING a stable energy supply for Guyana is a central goal for the current administration, despite pressures from some for Guyana to enter power purchasing arrangements which could cost the country more in the long-run.
PPP General Secretary Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said today during his weekly party press conference that from the Amaila Falls Project, the price per kilowatt hour amounts to 7 US cents. Meanwhile, the Wales Gas to Energy project comes in at approximately 5 US cents per kilowatt hours.
If government were to bend to the pressure of entering a long-term power purchasing arrangement of up to five or 10 years, the cost could climb as much as 15 US cents per kilowatt hour, Dr Jagdeo told the media corps.
He said that between now and 2025, Guyana cannot tie up its assets by engaging in arrangements that would put projects like Amaila and Wales into reserve mode. Based on an assessment of one proposal, Dr Jagdeo cautioned, Guyanese would have paid some US$90 million to those emergency power suppliers for the cost of their infrastructure alone.
To purchase those power plants would cost US$30 million, according to the PPP GS, which represents a US$60 million difference.