The Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation and Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) yesterday reviewed major electricity projects with contractors and reinforced the need to meet agreed deadlines, but provided no details on completion dates or how far individual works have advanced.
According to a release, contractors briefed officials on ongoing work, implementation schedules and upcoming milestones. Matters requiring attention were identified, but the release did not specify the difficulties or say whether any projects were behind schedule.
The meeting was led by the ministry’s Director General Alfonso De Armas, while GPL’s delegation was headed by Kesh Nandlall, Team Leader of its Executive Management Committee.
GPL Deputy Chief Executive Officer Bharat Harjohn, Director Ryan Ross and other company representatives also attended, along with representatives of InterEnergy, PowerChina, China Machinery Engineering Corporation and Kalpataru Projects International Limited.
The ministry said the projects are intended to increase capacity, modernise the electricity network and improve reliability, resilience and operational efficiency as demand grows.
The meeting follows earlier reviews involving the same contractors. Kiskadee Watch reported on October 13 that GPL had urged the companies to meet deadlines, but had not disclosed the projects’ completion dates or construction progress. A September meeting also ended without those details being made public
The wider infrastructure programme includes substantial spending on transmission and distribution. Kiskadee Watch, citing earlier Stabroek News reporting, noted that GPL signed US$422.2 million in contracts with PowerChina and Kalpataru in April 2025 to expand its transmission network, including infrastructure intended to carry electricity from the Gas-to-Energy project.
InterEnergy’s supervisory, engineering and project-management consultancy role is covered by a US$15.6 million agreement signed in October 2025.
GPL has previously identified new substations, transmission lines, a battery energy storage system and a Demerara River cable crossing among its grid-modernisation works. However, yesterday’s release did not establish which of those projects were reviewed
In September it was reported that drilling was underway for a new 69-kilovolt cable connecting the Kingston and Vreed-en-Hoop substations. Officials said the crossing would provide a second transmission route across the Demerara River and help maintain supply when one connection is unavailable.
The network works are being undertaken amid continuing pressure on electricity supply. At a September 7 press conference, GPL officials acknowledged that generation was barely keeping pace with demand, leaving inadequate reserve capacity to respond to unexpected disruptions.
The company also identified overloaded feeders and transformers as contributors to outages. Its Head of Transmission and Distribution, Shaun Hamlet, said eight new substations were being constructed across Demerara and Berbice, while another four were being upgraded.
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