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…company puts customers on notice
Noting that its monthly operating expenses has jumped to $4.5B, Guyana Power and Light (GPL) said the Russia-Ukraine war is taking a significant toll on the company’s operations.
“As we witness these developments from a safe distance, the effects have already reached our shores and by extension, the Company. GPL’s landed cost for fuel today is approximately US$140 per barrel and has quadrupled from 2016 when the fuel price was approximately US$30 per barrel,” the power company said in a statement on Tuesday.
International indicators, it said, point to further price increases.
Currently, GPL utilizes approximately 3,700 barrels of fuel daily for electricity generation to meet the daily demand, at the cost of approximately $111.5 million. This increase, the company said, has moved GPL’s total monthly operating expenses to approximately $4.5B against monthly electricity sales of approximately $3B.
“This means that GPL has to utilize every dollar it collects to meet its operating expenditure. This financially challenging position cannot be sustained at current fuel prices,” it said.
It added: “Every kilowatt-hour of electricity not generated would reduce the company’s fuel costs and by extension the overall operating costs.”
Given this extremely challenging and unsustainable position, GPL is imploring all customers to practice energy conservation.
