PM assures stable power for Christmas

…as damaged submarine cable repaired; testing being done

Repairs to the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) damaged 69Kv submarine cable has been completed, Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips announced while noting that Guyanese on the coastland can now expect a stable supply of electricity for Christmas.

Repair cost is pegged at US$500,000.

In a statement issued by his office, the Prime Minister said, “We will be testing the cable tonight, into tomorrow and based on what I’m told, by tomorrow evening, it should be up and running and we will be able to have the balancing of the (electrical) load from Vreed-en-Hoop into the rest of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System.”

Phillips’ statement followed an inspection of the ongoing work on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar; Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, His Excellency Cui Jianchun; CEO of GPL, Bharat Dindyal; Deputy CEO – Strategic Operations Samaroo Ramtahal and Representative of China National Machinery Import and Export Cooperation, Andrew Jin.

The 69kV submarine cable links GPL’s Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston substations and allows for the transfer of electrical power into the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).

Phillips thanked the Chinese Ambassador for bringing a team of four engineers from China to Guyana, to assist with the repairs.

Ambassador Cui said that he was happy to provide assistance to Guyana noting that China and Guyana share strong diplomatic ties.

“We always say that China and Guyana share a strong relationship and we are good friends… This is not about the money; this is really about needs and I commend the Government for being a people-centred Government,” the Ambassador said.

Meanwhile, Minister Indar said the cable was severely damaged and the Government will be seeking to recover the costs spent on the repairs.

“It’s not plug and play, it’s a serious job that required logistics…We’re going to go after the ship owners, the insurance and the agents, to recover every single dollar that we spent. It was not our fault that this happened.”

The Minister added that the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) has already issued instructions to maritime operators that Area B (the vicinity in which the cable is situated), is now a restricted zone and operators are prohibited from anchoring their vessels there.

“Because the cable has been damaged four times, every time it is severed it gets shorter… ships can’t be anchoring there, we have to monitor that,” Minister Indar said.

The 69kV submarine cable was damaged in late November after it was struck by the anchor of a vessel in the Demerara River.