Guyana government assures consumers no increase in electricity fees

Government has assured consumers, who are reeling from electricity blackouts, that there will be no increase in electricity charges during the period of the agreement signed between the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) for the rental of a power ship that will supply some 36 megawatts of power to the national grid.

“The government will absorb any additional costs stemming from the rental," Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said during his weekly news conference. "It is a large sum of money that we use to keep the price of electricity fixed. Since taking office, we have kept it fixed, in spite of the increase. So, there shall be no increase in the price.”

GPL signed a contract with Qatar-based Urbacon Concessions Investments, W.L.L (UCI) for a two-year rental of the floating power plant. Earlier this week, President Irfaan Ali said that among the challenges faced by GPL are increased demand and the lack of capacity.

A government statement said that the temporary arrangement will be in place for two years, essentially until the transformative gas-to-energy power plant comes online in 2025.

It stated that GPL has already paid a mobilisation fee of one million US dollars to rent the ship. Additionally, in a statement issued on Thursday, GPL confirmed that it will pay US$6.62 cents per kilowatt hour as a monthly charter fee for the ship, along with a maintenance fee of US$0.98 cents per kWh, based on electricity generated.

The announcement by Jagdeo and GPL comes after the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) called for details about the agreement and whether consumers would have to pay more for electricity due to the purchase of 17 second-hand generators last year, with an output of 28.9 megawatts, for US$27 million.

The government and the opposition A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) have been trading blame over which administration was responsible for the state of the electricity sector.