The Linden Electricity Company Inc (LECI) yesterday rejected a claim by APNU parliamentarian Sharma Solomon that the town experienced 10 power outages during the government’s two-day Cabinet outreach, saying its records show that there were two total interruptions followed by the sectional restoration of electricity.
Solomon, a former mayor of Linden, had told an APNU press conference last week that the community experienced “10 rounds of blackouts” while the Cabinet outreach was being held on September 2 and 3.
In a statement dated September 8, LECI described the claim as “grossly exaggerated and misleading” and said there was an important distinction between two community-wide interruptions and the restoration of electricity at different times to various sections of Linden.
According to the company, the first interruption occurred on the morning of September 2 and lasted approximately 30 minutes.
LECI said power was restored within about 10 minutes to Richmond Hill, the Linden Hospital Complex, Watooka Club, NCN, Mines, Fair’s Rust, Watooka, Noitgedacht and sections of the Mackenzie business district.
The remaining areas were restored progressively, with electricity returning approximately 25 to 35 minutes later.
The company said personnel from the Linden Utility Services Co-op Society Limited (LUSCSL) had been addressing a fault on the Wismar network and were required to open a section of the system to carry out corrective work.
During that exercise, it said, a flashover occurred and created a feedback condition which affected the Bosai power plant. The generating engines subsequently went offline, temporarily interrupting electricity to the community.
The second interruption occurred at approximately 2.45 pm on September 3 after a heavy lightning strike caused the engines at the Bosai power station to trip, LECI said.
Electricity was restored to the Mackenzie shore within approximately 25 minutes, while some sections of Wismar remained without power for about 45 minutes. The company said the Wismar network had to be restored progressively before the entire area could safely return to normal operation.
“There is a serious difference between an interruption affecting the entire community on two occasions… and claims that the entire community experienced ‘ten outages’,” the statement said.
LECI argued that describing the sectional restoration process as separate outages created unnecessary confusion and distrust among residents. It also criticised public officials for issuing statements on technical matters without first seeking clarification from the relevant authorities.
However, in a Facebook live broadcast on Sunday, Solomon maintained his broader criticism of the reliability and long-term security of Linden’s electricity supply.
He said the town had continued to experience blackouts and remained uncertain about whether the existing system could support residential, commercial and industrial expansion.
Solomon argued that the issue went beyond the number of interruptions during the outreach and concerned the adequacy of generation, the reliability of distribution and the future cost of electricity to residents.
He also questioned proposals to integrate Linden more closely with the Guyana Power and Light Inc network, pointing to the outages experienced in Georgetown and other interconnected areas.
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