Dear Editor,
It has come to my knowledge that the government through GPL has entered into a contract with APAN Engineering from Trinidad to purchase 17 used high speed diesel generator sets. Why APAN, we don’t know! Why not a Guyanese company or a diaspora company? Why is the Guyanese diaspora, with so many experts and specialists, not approached to provide or sell electricity to GPL?
APAN advertises itself as a clean energy company. But the plants being bought by Guyana are diesel operated, meaning they create high carbon pollution at a time when the world is moving away from fossil fuel carbon generated electricity.
These old power generating plants are from Trinidad and Belize and will be refurbished by GPL in Guyana. They were not operational for almost a decade. So they will need a lot of work. GPL will provide engineering services to make them operational. The contract is signed in excess of US $34 million. There was not any announcement of a tender. The company was selected without tendering. It is not known why it was not tendered.
The government should explain what is the basis for it not being tendered? And why move in this direction with the gas to shore project on stream for early 2025? Is it because gas to shore project cannot be completed on time for local demand and for the election. Or is this contract something to enrich people?
These are two megawatt set each units. It will cost several more millions in American dollars to make the generators workable. The seventeen generators cost much more than new ones. The amount of money to be expended can purchase some two dozen new generators and that would not need servicing from GPL. This project is reminiscent of the (goody) barge of Corbin from Brazil that was not operational.
Instead of 17 high speed generators that would occupy a lot of space and require a lot of extra labor to make them operation and to constantly monitor them, government can purchase three or four new medium speed units that would cost less and generate more electricity, take up less space, and require virtually no extra costs to monitor to service. More power can be generated for less money especially to meet peak loads.
Government needs to explain why this sudden decision to sign a contract for used power plants which will have to be fixed in Guyana? Why are we adding to pollution in the atmosphere and adding to green house effect? Parliament should carry out an investigation of this contract!
Yours truly,
Lincoln Chase
