The Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation and the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) met contractors yesterday to review work on projects across the electricity network, but a statement issued afterwards did not identify the projects, their completion dates or how far construction has advanced.
Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar led the meeting with Director General Alfonso De Armas. GPL’s delegation was headed by Kesh Nandlall, team leader of its Executive Management Committee, and Deputy Chief Executive Officer Bharat Harjohn.
Representatives of InterEnergy, PowerChina, China Machinery Engineering Corporation and Kalpataru Projects International Limited attended, along with other GPL officials and directors Ryan Ross and Shaun Hamlet.
According to the ministry, the contractors provided updates on work underway, implementation timelines, upcoming milestones and matters requiring attention. The meeting also addressed coordination and challenges affecting the execution of the projects.
The ministry said the works were intended to strengthen and modernise the electricity network as demand grows. It did not say which contractor is responsible for each project, what difficulties were raised at the meeting or whether any deadline has changed.
The state of GPL’s network has come under scrutiny amid repeated power outages. Adding generating capacity alone does not resolve constraints in transmitting and distributing electricity to customers, making the progress of network works a matter of public interest.
The meeting came as a key deadline approaches for the provision of power from the massive gas to energy project by the end of the year.
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed recently charged that substations that are crucial for the transmission of this power are far behind schedule.
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