The Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) on Sunday said that customers suffered frequent power outages at the weekend due to the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) experiencing a system disturbance due to a fault at the Kingston Power Plant.
This resulted in service interruptions to customers within the DBIS with the exception of customers on the West Bank and West Coast of Demerara.
The Power Company said that restoration efforts began around noon with the last area being repowered around 17:00h on Sunday.
“In a separate incident today, around 17:00h, customers within Kitty and environs experienced an outage to facilitate a paratrooping exercise by the Guyana Defence Force, these customers were repowered at 17:26hrs,” GPL said in a statement.
Further, GPL said that customers along the East Bank Demerara corridor between Houston to Nandy Park experienced a service interruption to facilitate an emergency outage and were repowered at 17:33hrs.
Similarly, on Friday, November 27, 2020 the company’s 69kV Submarine cable which links the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston Power Plants was damaged as a result of a ship’s anchor.
The cable was raised on Saturday, November 28, at which time that damage was confirmed and it was discovered that the cable was completely severed.
“As a result of this incident customers in Regions 4, 5 and 6 services were intermittently affected during the period Friday, 2020 November 27 to Sunday, 2020 November 29,” GPL said assuring that efforts are currently underway in the Demerara River to determine the full extent of the damage to the submarine cable and subsequently the necessary requirements to rectify the problem.
GPL said that a smiliar accident occurred last year and the company has employed several preventative measures in tandem with Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) to avoid a reoccurrence.
The measures include a survey to determine and plot the location of the cable in the Demerara River and the updating of maritime charts including the position of the submarine cable; publication of maritime notices indicating the boundaries of the submarine cable; and the placement of warning signs and hazard lights at both ends of the cable. Short and Medium Term Plans GPL implemented a number of measures to prevent prolonged service interruptions when the 69 kV cable is disrupted.
GPL said the measures have resulted in the avoidance of widespread load shedding and include the installation of a new 13.8kV Submarine Cable from Vreed-en-Hoop to Princess Street, which is being utilized to transfer power from the Vreed-en-Hoop Power Plant to the eastern side of the DBIS via an alternative route; installation of the new express feeder from Vreed en Hoop to Vriesland which facilitates the utilization of the cable from Vriesland to Craig as an additional alternative route; installation of additional generating capacity in Berbice to make that area more self-sufficient and the importation of approximately 4MW from MCG Investments (Giftland Mall).
“Notwithstanding GPL’s efforts, the risk of short term outages is increased as the two systems operate without the 69 kV interconnection; these risks will be further addressed with implementation of GPL’s medium term plans,” the Power Company said. The Company’s medium term plans include the installation of an additional 10 MW of generating capacity by December 15, 2020; construction of the new 46.5MW at Garden-of-Eden by April 2021 and further improvements in the transmission and distribution system to build redundancy at the 69 kV and 13.8 kV levels.
“We wish to assure our valued customers that the company is working assiduously to provide reliable supply for the upcoming festive season and beyond.
GPL remains committed to providing a stable supply of electricity service to our valued customers and apologizes for any inconvenience caused,” GPL said.
