Electricity demand in Bartica has risen sharply in recent weeks, reaching approximately 3.3 megawatts (MW), prompting the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) to install a new 2.2 MW generating unit to increase the town’s available capacity.
In a video posted on President Irfaan Ali’s Facebook page, a team from GPL spoke about how demand in the Region Seven community had previously stood at approximately 2.5 MW to 2.6 MW but climbed to around 3.3 MW over the past two to three weeks.
“Over the past probably two to three weeks, we have seen a steep increase in the demand, and I think it’s going to continue to increase,” one official said. However, no explanation was provided for what has driven the recent increase in electricity consumption.
Bartica currently has approximately 5.3 MW of generation capacity, but GPL has purchased a new 2.2 MW Cummins generating unit that is now being installed and is expected to become operational by the end of the month.
Once commissioned, the unit is expected to push the town’s total generation capacity to approximately 7 MW, more than twice the recently recorded demand.
The additional capacity is intended not only to cater for growing electricity consumption but also to provide sufficient reserve generation to allow GPL to carry out maintenance without disrupting service to customers.
GPL said its aim is to maintain sufficient generating capacity to provide a continuous electricity supply to Bartica as demand increases. Meanwhile, work is also underway on the town’s electricity distribution infrastructure.
Another GPL official said technical teams were servicing 13.8-kilovolt switchgear as part of efforts to improve the reliability of the distribution network.
The maintenance is being undertaken in phases and includes the replacement of a cubicle, retrofitting works and servicing of additional switching equipment. The works require temporary outages, and residents have been asked to exercise patience while they are completed.
GPL officials said the increased generation capacity, coupled with maintenance of the distribution network, is expected to strengthen the reliability of electricity supply to Bartica.
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