Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) will receive an additional three megawatts of power in Linden, Region 10, after mining company BOSAI agreed to provide two 1.5 MW engines to support the grid, the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation said.
One engine was expected to be installed within the week, while the second would follow as soon as it became available, the Ministry said, adding that the extra capacity would help meet peak demand between 1pm and 3pm and 7pm and 9pm.
The Linden intervention formed part of a wider push by the Ministry and GPL to strengthen generation and improve the reliability and resilience of the national grid.
That effort has already begun to show results. Available generation capacity stood at 266.3 MW, up from 256 MW recorded on Friday, August 14, following the addition of 9.3 MW of new generation, the Ministry said. Peak demand currently ranged between 235 MW and 240 MW, giving GPL a capacity reserve of 26.3 MW.
Elsewhere on the grid, similar interventions are under way across several regions. In Region Four, a powership supplying 70 MW continued to stabilise the grid, with an additional five megawatts expected by August 30, according to the Ministry.
Further west, in Region Two, the procurement process for an additional eight megawatts of generation capacity was in its final stage, the Ministry said, while mining company GMI would add two megawatts to Anna Regina, freeing up small generating sets running beyond their limit for overhaul.
Meanwhile, in Region Three, works to lay additional cable along the bed of the Demerara River, from the Princess Street substation to the Vreed-en-Hoop substation, were scheduled to begin on Tuesday, August 18. The cable would transmit seven megawatts of power, the Ministry said. Separate works would also begin on pole planting for GPL’s F5 Feeder, which distributes power from the Garden of Eden substation to Timehri and along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
In Region Six, a 2.2 MW engine was installed to maintain voltage stability and increase generation capacity in Berbice.
Alongside these supply-side measures, Government has also moved to manage demand. The Ministry noted that conservation measures, including at public buildings and lit sports grounds, had helped reduce peak demand to an average of between 235 MW and 240 MW, down from a high of 242.6 MW recorded last week.
