Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar has sought to explain why several high-voltage transmission poles remain in the middle of the ongoing four-lane expansion of the East Coast Demerara roadway, saying the existing line cannot be removed until an alternative transmission route is completed.
Indar said the poles form part of a 69,000-volt transmission line that carries bulk electricity along the East Coast corridor and links the Demerara and Berbice power systems.
According to Indar, the Government is widening the road to the boundaries of properties on both sides, with drainage infrastructure being constructed along the edges. While other utilities have generally been relocated to the sides, the transmission line cannot simply be removed because it is currently the only link carrying bulk power between the Demerara and Berbice systems.
“This line brings power to the entire East Coast corridor,” Indar explained in a video, noting that it transmits 69,000 volts of bulk power and extends beyond the East Coast. He said removing the existing line now would require significant power outages, which the Government does not want to undertake.
Instead, an alternative 69kV transmission line is being constructed through the East Coast backlands, and Indar said the new route is being built from Ogle towards Good Hope and is expected to be completed by the end of November, allowing the existing poles along the roadway to be removed.
The backlands project has taken longer than initially anticipated because contractors have had to construct access roads and work through wetlands, marshlands and swampy areas.
Indar said the road construction advanced faster than the transmission-line project, creating the situation where the highway expansion has reached the area before the existing power infrastructure could be relocated.
He said that the poles were not overlooked during planning. “We knew of it but you just could not have taken it out without an alternative line being built,” Indar said, adding that the alternative line has been under construction continuously.
GPL officials accompanying Indar explained that the existing lines are critical because they allow electricity to flow between the Demerara and Berbice systems. Removing them before the replacement is commissioned would disconnect the two systems.
The replacement line, known as the new L-16, is approximately 80 percent complete between the Good Hope and Good Progress substations, according to GPL’s technical team, and the company is targeting completion of that section by the end of November 2026.
Once the new line is commissioned, the existing transmission infrastructure along the railway embankment can be removed, freeing the space needed for the continued highway expansion.
Indar said the new transmission route is being constructed with upgraded materials and is part of an expansion of Guyana’s transmission network. The Government is also developing a new 230kV transmission line through the backlands as part of the expansion of the national grid.
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