THE Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) is poised to complete the interconnection of a 36-megawatt power ship to the national grid by the end of today, a move that is expected to significantly boost the country’s efforts to supply stable electricity.
The power ship arrived in Guyana last Wednesday, and will be interconnected to the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) at Everton, Region Six.
During a tour of the vessel on Monday, the head of GPL’s Executive Management Team, Kesh Nandlall, informed the Department of Public Information (DPI) that the ship is ready to operate at maximum capacity.
“We are on track to interconnect the ship to the network for May 8 as we initially indicated. We have constructed the transmission lines and then we have to do some protection work. We will then test the ship and connect it,” Nandlall explained to DPI.
According to DPI, Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, conducted a comprehensive inspection of the vessel during a tour on Monday. It reported that he emphasised that the ship represents a significant investment by the government to build the country’s energy infrastructure.
“I must commend the technical manager and the crew of the ship for the immaculate condition that this ship is in. It’s a 22-year-old ship and it looks brand new,” he told DPI.
The DPI reported that the Senior Minister in the Office of the President, with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, was also present at the site, where he affirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining existing power stations across the nation.
“Senior Minister Dr Ashni Singh highlighted the ship’s role, along with new generators at Garden of Eden and Colombia power plants, in assessing energy needs,” DPI noted.
“The arrival and plugging in of this power ship into the grid, along with the other investments, will help but they will not solve the problem overnight. However, we are going to continue to monitor how demand grows and what we can do to ensure that we have adequate supply,” DPI reported Minister Singh as saying.
The power ship will be in Guyana for the next two years and last operated on the Caribbean Island of Cuba. It has two engines which produce 18.5 megawatts each.
On April 13, GPL signed a contract with Urbacon Concessions Investments, W.L.L (UCI) to charter the power ship for a period of two years, with US$1 million paid as a mobilisation fee.
The contract includes the provision of operational and maintenance services as part of the agreement.
UCI is a subsidiary of UCC Holdings, a company incorporated in the State of Qatar. UCC Holdings has a strategic alliance with Karpowership International, a Turkish company.
Once connected, the power-supply ship is expected to operate at a remarkable 96 per cent availability, and will be integrated into GPL’s grid at 69 kilovolts (kV).
Under the terms of the agreement, GPL will pay a monthly charter fee of 6.62 US cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the power ship, along with a 0.98 US cents per kWh operation and maintenance fee based on electricity generation.
The utility company is also responsible for the supply of heavy fuel oil (HFO) for operation of the generators of the vessel.
The persistent power outages, attributed to various factors including aging infrastructure and increased demand, have underscored the urgent need for infrastructural upgrades within GPL’s network. In response, GPL is actively exploring renewable-energy options, and is poised to embrace the government’s gas-to-energy project, which aims to supply around 300 megawatts of power by the last quarter of 2024.
Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, has reassured citizens that energy costs will not escalate because of the rental of the power supply ship, highlighting the government’s commitment to stable and affordable energy solutions.
