Prime Minister, Hon. Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, yesterday announced that the communities of Whitewater and Kamwatta, of Barima – Waini (Region One), will receive electricity before the end of the year.
The Prime Minister made these remarks during the simple sod-turning ceremonies at the construction sites where power generation facilities will be installed in the two communities.
According to the PM, the two facilities will be constructed and operable before the end of 2021. They come at a cost of approximately $27.5M collectively.
It will be the first time that both communities get reliable electricity. Currently, electricity is supplied by generators and solar panels purchased by residents for their individual use.
The Prime Minister said that the projects are an indication that his Government is one that cares for the wellbeing of Guyanese and honours its commitment to the people.
“When we campaigned, we spoke about development and we made promises to these people, now that we have formed the Government over the last eight months, we are focused on delivering on those promises”.
Toshao of Kamwatta, Maurice Henry said that in addition to anticipating electricity for the first time, the community was also excited about the first visit of a prime minister.
“I feel very happy and proud because the Prime Minister came to visit us and no other Prime Minister has ever come to visit us… I think this project will transform our community in a very important way because we’ve never had electricity in our village and I know all the residents will be happy knowing that we will now get electricity”.
Meanwhile, Toshao of Whitewater, Ernest Samuels, said that in addition to a prime minister coming to that community for the first time also, he is pleased that the Government is fulfilling its promises made while campaigning.
“I’m very happy and I’m very proud of the commitment by the Government, because they said when they were campaigning that Whitewater will be receiving electricity to every home in our central area, and today it is the beginning of the fulfilment of that promise and the people here are very proud and they know that it would make their lives easier because they will be able to have their appliances”.
The Prime Minister also visited the power generation facility in Wauna Village, another small community outside of central Mabaruma. According to Prime Minister Phillips, he expects that facility will be upgraded and the network expanded so that more households within the community will receive electrical power.
While in Wauna, the Senior Government Official met with a group of students at the Wauna Primary School and also used the opportunity to meet with residents there to listen to their concerns.
The meetings were a part of the Prime Minister’s two-day visit to the region, where he installed new Boards of Directors for the power utility companies, assessed the power generation facilities and met with residents throughout various communities. He was accompanied by Minister of Housing and Water, Honourable Collin Croal, Regional Chairman, Barima – Waini (Region One), Brentnol Ashley and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Hinterland Electrification Company, Horace Williams.
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PM says Guyanese to benefit from significant increase in electricity generation
– Gas to energy project set for 2024 completion
– 46.5-megawatt power plant to be completed by end of April 2021
Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips this afternoon said that Guyanese can expect to benefit from an exponential increase in electric power over the next four years.
The Prime Minister made these comments during a guided tour of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Garden of Eden Power Station, where he also inspected the progress of a 46.5-megawatt power plant being built by Wärtsilä.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of April 2021 at a cost of approximately US$52 million.
Additionally, it was pointed out that Guyanese can also expect to benefit from the generation of 200 megawatts of power with a gas to energy project which is expected to be completed by December 2024. The country’s peak demand for power at this time is 125 megawatts.
The Prime Minister said the Government will continue to support the strategic development of GPL, to the benefit of all Guyanese.
“I want to compliment the CEO, Deputy CEO and all the other staff of GPL for the hard work that they are putting in 24 hours a day to keep the lights on in Guyana. With a project like this and many projects that we have planned for the future, we will reach to a point where electricity will be 100 percent reliable and there will be no power outages”.
According to Mr. Ryan Ross, Divisional Director (Projects), GPL, the new power plant is a modern dual fuel facility that will be able to utilise heavy fuel oil and natural gas simultaneously.
Additionally, Mr. Gary Hall, Divisional Director, Administration of Power Producers and Distributors limited (PPDI), said there has already been a significant overhaul to the power generation system for 2020, which will result in a stable supply of power by December.
“We have had to do eleven overhauls this year… we have at least three to finish before the end of the year, all of our maintenance activity should be finished on or before the first week of December, so we should have full generation availability”.
Also present during the tour of the facility was Chief Executive Officer of GPL, Mr. Albert Gordon.
