There is something profoundly wrong with an oil-rich Guyana that cannot keep the lights on. Guyana is earning billions of dollars from petroleum. Government revenues have exploded and public spending has reached levels previous generations could scarcely imagine. Yet ordinary Guyanese continue to be plunged into darkness, sometimes repeatedly and for prolonged periods.
This should not be normal. It should not be accepted. It should be a source of national outrage. The blackout crisis is no longer simply an electricity problem. It is a threat to the economic well-being, safety, health and quality of life of the Guyanese people.
When the power disappears, refrigerators and freezers stop functioning. Food spoils. Shops lose business. Restaurants lose stock. Workers are disrupted. Students struggle to study. Families are forced to spend additional income on batteries, fuel, generators and other emergency alternatives. For small businesses operating on narrow margins, repeated outages can mean lost income, damaged equipment and, ultimately, closure.
But the most disturbing consequences are suffered by people whose health depends on reliable electricity. Patients who require electrically powered medical equipment can face serious risks when the power fails. People dependent on oxygen concentrators, ventilators or other essential devices cannot simply be told to “conserve” electricity. Their health can depend on a functioning power supply.
Hospitals face an even greater responsibility. Electricity is not optional in an operating room. Surgical lights, anaesthesia equipment, monitors, ventilators, sterilisation systems and other critical infrastructure require dependable power. A blackout during surgery or another critical medical procedure is not an inconvenience. It can become a matter of life and death. A modern healthcare system cannot operate safely on the assumption that the lights might go out.
And what is the Government’s response? Conserve electricity. Of course consumers should use electricity responsibly. But there is a fundamental difference between encouraging conservation and shifting responsibility for an inadequate national power system onto citizens who depend upon it.
Guyanese did not create the electricity crisis. They are paying the price for it.
The Government knew the oil boom was coming. It knew economic expansion, new housing, businesses, industries and population growth would increase electricity demand. It knew the existing generation, transmission and distribution systems required substantial investment.
There was time to prepare. There was money to prepare. And now there is more money than Guyana has ever had. So why are we still here? That is the question the Government must answer. The Gas-to-Energy project was supposed to be a major part of the solution. Instead, delays, escalating costs and uncertainty have kept Guyanese waiting for the promised transformation. But Guyana cannot live on promises.
A family sitting in darkness cannot switch on a government press release. A business losing thousands of dollars in spoiled goods cannot pay its bills with promises. A student cannot study by political rhetoric. And a patient whose health depends on electricity cannot survive on assurances.
Development is not measured by how much money government spends. It is measured by whether people’s lives improve. The Government can point to roads, buildings, contracts and billions in expenditure. But when the lights repeatedly go out, citizens are entitled to ask what all that spending has actually accomplished.
This is bigger than GPL. It is a test of governance. Someone must explain why generation remains inadequate, why the transmission and distribution network remains vulnerable, and why major energy projects continue to face delays and rising costs. The answers must go beyond blaming consumers.
Government has the responsibility to provide reliable electricity. Citizens have the responsibility to pay their bills and use electricity responsibly. The two responsibilities must not be confused.
Guyana’s oil wealth belongs to its people. Its purpose cannot simply be to finance government while citizens continue to endure problems associated with the pre-oil era. The true measure of Guyana’s oil boom is not the size of government revenues. It is whether a child can study at night, a business can operate, food can remain safely refrigerated, a patient can depend on essential equipment and doctors can perform surgery without fearing that the power will fail.
Guyana has the oil. It has the money. It has known for years that electricity demand would surge. What it appears to lack is the urgency to turn that wealth into dependable power. That is not merely an inconvenience. It is a failure of leadership—and Guyanese have every right to be angry about it.
