Drilling has begun for the installation of a new 69-kilovolt submarine cable across the Demerara River, which the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) says will strengthen the electricity supply to West Demerara.
In a statement, GPL said that work was progressing at both the Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston ends of the proposed crossing. The double-circuit cable will connect the Kingston and Vreed-en-Hoop substations.
The cable is to be installed approximately 75 feet below the riverbed using horizontal directional drilling, a trenchless method which GPL said would allow river traffic to continue without disruption.
Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar, accompanied by a GPL delegation led by Executive Management Committee Team Leader Kesh Nandlall, recently visited the Vreed-en-Hoop worksite. GPL Director Gary Hall and Rafael Nabi of Capital Edge Partners were also present.
During the visit, Shayne Hicks of HDDT International provided an update on the drilling operations, the statement said.
The project also entails the expansion of the Kingston and Vreed-en-Hoop substations to receive and dispatch the additional power. A new 69-kV gas-insulated switchgear installation is also planned for Kingston.
According to GPL, the crossing will provide an alternative transmission route for electricity generated by the Gas-to-Energy plant at Wales. It is intended to allow the power supply to be maintained if one transmission link is taken out of service.
The company said that the new infrastructure would eventually replace an existing river crossing which is decades old and has limited capacity.
GPL said that electricity demand on the West Demerara has increased from 25 megawatts to 41 MW in recent months. It added that the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System recorded a peak demand of 246.2 MW on Thursday night, its highest to date.
The depth of the proposed cable is also expected to facilitate the planned dredging of the Demerara River channel, allowing it to accommodate vessels with deeper drafts, the statement said.
Meanwhile, GPL said that a second cable had already been laid between Sussex Street and Vreed-en-Hoop as an interim measure to provide West Demerara with an additional power supply route while work on the main crossing continues.
The project forms part of the utility company’s wider expansion of the national grid, including the construction of substations, transmission lines, distribution feeders and battery-storage facilities.
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