—new 9.3 MW unit commissioned at Garden of Eden
The country’s available electricity-generating capacity has risen to 266.3 megawatts (MW) following the commissioning of a new 9.3 MW unit at Garden of Eden, according to Minister within the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar.
Providing an update yesterday on interventions announced at a press conference last Friday, Indar said the generating set began supplying electricity to the grid at approximately 2.30 pm.
“That set was made online at 2.30 this afternoon and is generating 9.3 MW, which has now brought our total available generation to 266.3 MW,” he said in a Facebook video.
Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), in a subsequent release, said peak demand currently ranges from approximately 235 MW to 240 MW, leaving the utility with a claimed reserve of 26.3 MW.
Indar said demand had previously reached 242.6 MW but had since fallen to around 240 MW following measures to reduce electricity consumption at government buildings and community grounds.
He said lights and air-conditioning units were being switched off at government buildings when not required. Floodlights at more than 88 community grounds were also being turned off when the facilities were not in use.
“If the community needs it, we’ll put it on back, but it can’t be there running and using up energy that is critically needed, and nobody is playing in those major community grounds,” Indar said.
Indar, meanwhile, said at different points that last Friday’s capacity was 256.3 MW and that the new unit moved it to 266.3 MW, which also represents an increase of 10 MW rather than 9.3 MW.
Region Four
Indar said the power ship is currently supplying 70 MW to Region Four and is expected to add another 5 MW by August 30.
He said a lengthy outage in Region Four on Sunday, from approximately 6 am until the afternoon, was caused by upgrade works at the new Georgetown substation, which receives electricity from the power ship.
The works included changes to switchgear, panels and transmission infrastructure and were completed on Sunday, he said.
“Currently, they are already putting 70 MW. There is only 5 more MW from that power ship that can come into the grid,” Indar explained.
Work is also expected to begin on an additional transmission line from the Garden of Eden substation to Timehri and along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
Indar said the existing line had reached its operating limit and was tripping during periods of peak demand.
A contract has been awarded to Ramotar and Sons, which has begun transporting materials. Pole planting was expected to begin by Wednesday, he said.
The line will be constructed in phases, allowing sections to be placed into operation as the work progresses.
Demerara River cable
In Region Three, contractors are expected to begin laying an additional submarine cable across the Demerara River.
The cable will run along the riverbed from the Princes Street substation in Georgetown to the Vreed-en-Hoop substation and is expected to transmit approximately 7 MW.
Indar said electricity demand in Region Three had increased from 26 MW to approximately 41 MW, placing additional strain on the existing submarine cable.
The existing cable was intended to safely carry between 7 MW and 8 MW but recently transmitted as much as 15 MW, he said.
“If that cable fries, we will have problems in Region Three because the power is transmitted from Region Four through that cable to Region Three,” the minister warned.
The contractor mobilised over the weekend and was expected to begin laying the new cable today.
Essequibo generation
Indar said an additional two megawatts could be transferred to Region Two from generators being moved from a mining operation.
He said the intervention would allow GPL to remove several Caterpillar generating sets from service for overdue maintenance.
“Although we have enough generation, when the engines trip, we get outages in Region Two, and we want to put some extra power there,” he said.
According to Indar, some of the smaller generators have been operating beyond their recommended overhaul periods and must be taken out of service so that major components can be replaced.
The procurement of another 8 MW of generating capacity for Region Two is also in the final stage of evaluation. The tender has closed and the proposed award must be taken to Cabinet for approval, he said.
Berbice voltage
A 2.2 MW generating unit has meanwhile been installed in Region Six to address voltage fluctuations along the Berbice transmission network.
Indar said Region Six receives electricity from a 36 MW power ship at Everton and Canefield and from Skeldon Energy Inc. The distance between the sources had contributed to voltage instability in the central part of the network.
The additional generator was installed between the two supply points to improve voltage and ensure that water-treatment plants and other essential facilities could operate reliably.
“That has been done, and from everything that I’m told and what was reported back to me, the voltage is relatively stable,” Indar said.
He added that the region’s water and treatment plants remained operational.
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