Nov 13, 2026
2 min read
Two transmission lines that have carried electricity between Garden of Eden and Golden Grove for more than 30 years will be replaced under a US$11.4 million contract signed by Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) on Thursday.
The utility says the East Bank Demerara upgrade will allow it to move more electricity between the substations and give it more flexibility to keep customers supplied when one of the two circuits is taken out of service.
The importance of the link became clear in May, when an excavator struck one of the lines at Grove. GPL said the incident knocked both substations offline and left thousands of customers across parts of Demerara and Berbice without power.
The contract covers about 11 kilometres of the existing route. The new 69-kilovolt overhead line will use steel poles carrying two circuits. Fibre-optic cables will help GPL pinpoint faults and respond faster, which the utility says could shorten outages.
The added capacity is intended to help meet rising demand and accommodate future connections, including solar power. Ignite News reported in September that GPL had identified rising demand and overloaded sections of its distribution network as factors contributing to power interruptions.
On Thursday, Kesh Nandlall, who leads GPL’s Executive Management Committee, signed the contract with Chen Yu, who represented the CRIG–DINGLI Joint Venture which comprises China Railway International Group Co., Ltd. and Henan Dingli Power Equipment Co., Ltd.
According to the power company the contractor was selected through international competitive bidding for the work which is part of a wider programme, partly financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, to strengthen the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System.
