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The power ship, promising to inject up to 36MW of power into the national grid, was successfully connected to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) systems.

Currently, only 18MW of generation from the ship is being injected into the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).

The remaining generation will be added to the grid incrementally during the course of the coming week.

“The Guyana Power and Light Inc. wishes to express our gratitude to the Government of Guyana, NDMA, GAICO, E-Networks and our dedicated Transmission and Distribution and Protection and Instrumentation employees for their invaluable contribution towards realizing this timely initiative,” GPL said in a statement.

On Thursday last, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said the government intends to seek out more power.

He noted that the additional power would be sought in a short term arrangement similar to the current powership venture. That is, power will be supplied to the main power grid for two years until the government is able to complete and operationalise the massive 300 MW Gas-to-Energy project at Wales, West Bank Demerara.

The power ship is being rented by GPL from Karpowership International out of Turkey.

GPL has already paid a mobilisation fee of US$1 million to rent the power ship and it will pay 6.62 cents per kilowatt hour as a monthly charter fee plus 0.98 cents per kilowatt hour on maintenance, based on electricity generated.

The deal to rent the power ship was signed on April 13 with Urbacon Concessions Investments, W.L.L (UCI) to rent the power ship for two years.

At his press conference, Jagdeo said the government hopes the additional 36 MW of power will be able to ease the spate of power outages the consumers have been grappling with.

About 2,000 residents from Kumaka, Santa Rosa Islands and other satellite areas in the Moruca sub-district, Region One will benefit from a continuous supply of potable water, as works are advancing on the new $10 million well.

An additional $10 million will be invested in other works such as the installation of the pump system and electricity network.

During an inspection of the well site Saturday morning, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, emphasised that the prolonged dry weather has resulted in the depletion of water in the creek.

The expansion of the water system will provide increased access to and quality of water.

“The historical context here is that the source of the water [we are getting] is through the creek and we are using the reservoir catchment to pump the water…” he explained.

He continued, “All of Santa Rosa is relieved now because this is one of the many wells that we are drilling currently.”

The ministry will be working along with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to expand electricity access to the water system which will provide more pumping hours and greater efficiency.

Minister Croal commended the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, RDC and Santa Rosa Village for transporting water to the residents during this period.

Minister Croal also inspected ongoing developmental works on the $5 million water system at Santa Rosa Islands which is supplying 60 households with access to water.

Some $1 million is being expended for the additional woodwork of the system to supply water to 40 more households. These works are set to be completed by May 31.

Some $700 million is earmarked to drill a minimum of 25 new wells in the region, coupled with upgrades to water distribution systems.

Investments are being made in the water sector to increase treated water coverage to 100 per cent in the hinterland regions, by the end of next year.

In 2020, access to potable water stood at 45 per cent in the hinterland regions.

Access to potable water in Region One, for instance, stood at 38 per cent. Back then, all of the riverine communities depended solely on the creeks, springs and rain for water.

Now, access to treated water in the region stands at 75 per cent and is expected to increase by 92 per cent by year-end.

Minister Croal revealed that contracts totalling $52.8 million were recently awarded to SRT Constructing General Supplies to drill new wells in Santa Cruz, Warapoka and Kokerite.

Furthermore, the communities of Waikrebi, Kariako, Chinese Landing and Assakata will also benefit from the construction of new wells at a cost of $79.3 million.

Minister Croal announced that a Presidential outreach will be hosted in Region One next weekend, where various issues will be addressed to provide the necessary interventions.

The minister was joined by Regional Vice Chairperson Annasha Peters, GWI’s Hinterland Services Director, Ramchand Jailal, Parliamentary Secretary, Sarah Browne and other technical officers. [DPI]