-as feeders trip under overload
The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) is currently operating its electricity system with virtually no reserve capacity to respond to unexpected disruptions, as surging demand is placing increasing pressure on the national grid.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer Bharat Harjohn made the disclosure at a press conference yesterday, explaining that GPL’s available generation is currently only sufficient to meet demand, leaving the utility without the spinning reserve needed to absorb fluctuations in the system.
“We are experiencing a very high demand, and our generation is just there; just enough to meet that demand at this time,” Harjohn said at the press conference with GPL’s Head of Executive Management Committee, Kesh Nandlall and other heads of departments at the power company’s Duke Street, Kingston office.
“We don’t have the spinning reserve in the system,” he added, explaining that the reserve is what allows GPL to respond when there are fluctuations in the electricity system. “Because we are just neck by neck right now to meet our demand, we don’t have the spinning reserve. So you experience some of these kinds of unstable situations,” Harjohn said.
Recently, GPL customers have been experiencing a spate of electricity disruptions affecting people in several parts of the country.
Nandlall said peak demand has climbed significantly, increasing from 221 megawatts last year to a recent peak of 257 megawatts on September 1. GPL currently has 265.6 megawatts of generation available, meaning the September 1 peak came within approximately 8.6 megawatts of that available capacity.
Nandlall said demand typically peaks between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., when large numbers of customers return home and switch on air-conditioning units and other appliances at roughly the same time. However, the immediate challenge facing the company is not simply generation, but the capacity and condition of its distribution network.
Harjohn disclosed that most of GPL’s feeders are currently tripping because of overloading conditions, moving the company to develop strategies to redistribute the load across the network. “Some feeders we can offload and put on another feeder; we may have to take off an area just to ensure it doesn’t affect all the customers on the feeder,” he said.
This suggests that some customers could face targeted interruptions as GPL seeks to prevent overloaded feeders from causing wider disruptions across the network.
5,000
Nandlall said GPL has replaced approximately 5,000 transformers in recent years, but the continued growth in electricity demand is placing pressure on the distribution system. He noted that the number of GPL customers has grown from 201,791 in 2020 to approximately 250,000 currently, while existing customers are also increasing their electricity consumption.
According to Nandlall, some customers are increasing their electrical load without notifying GPL, making it difficult for the company to anticipate and plan for those increases. “We do not have a smart system as yet; we’re working towards that. So we wouldn’t know when this increase happens,” he said, urging customers who are increasing their loads to notify GPL.
He said the company is also exploring the possibility of bringing additional generation into the system as it works to address the immediate pressure.
Nandlall said the company expects the first power from the long-awaited Gas-to-Energy project to become available by the end of this year, followed by gradual increases in generation, with full power expected by June 2027.
In the meantime, GPL is undertaking a major infrastructure programme estimated at approximately US$800 million, covering transmission and distribution upgrades.
Head of Engineering and Projects Ryan Ross said the programme includes approximately 350 kilometres of new distribution network, along with new 230-kilovolt transmission lines, additional substations and new 69-kilovolt transmission infrastructure. GPL is also constructing eight new substations across Demerara and Berbice and upgrading another four.
Nandlall said the company has increased its generating capacity by approximately 230 megawatts between 2020 and 2026 and is expected to add another five megawatts by tomorrow.
Despite those investments, GPL’s total technical and commercial losses currently remain at approximately 25 per cent of total generation, Nandlall shared.
Head of Transmission and Distribution Shaun Hamlet said GPL is currently constructing eight new substations across Demerara and Berbice while upgrading another four, projects she said will increase the network’s capacity and improve the reliability of electricity supply.
She acknowledged that GPL is facing challenges within its distribution network, particularly from overloading, but said ongoing construction activity is also contributing to some of the difficulties being experienced.
Meanwhile, the GPL officials maintained that the current problems are being addressed through immediate corrective works while the larger infrastructure programme is being implemented to strengthen the network and improve reliability.
The company has also been instructed to implement a smart grid by 2030, which officials said would eventually allow for improved real-time monitoring, earlier identification of faults and faster responses to problems across the network.
Demand for electricity here has also been driven up by the current hot weather.
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