Second power ship set to bolster energy grid before Christmas

The second power ship for the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) is on track to add 75 megawatts to the national grid before Christmas.

“There would be no blackout for Christmas or any low shedding. Any blackout we suffer might be a result of a vehicle damaging a power line or something of that nature,” Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said.

PM Phillips provided the update during his visit to the power vessel, docked in the Demerara River on Sunday.

According to him, Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc remains on schedule to connect the ship to the grid before Christmas. However, final testing must first be conducted.

He explained that the testing of the energy ship is expected to be completed within a day.

“We will do testing when GPL is finished connecting the grid to the power ship…The testing will take perhaps one day. GPL has been through this procedure of connecting the line to the ship before,” the prime minister explained.

In May of this year, a similar procedure was carried out when the first power ship, with a capacity of 36 megawatts was connected at Everton in Region Six.

PM Phillips expressed confidence in GPL’s technical team, which has overseen the project from its inception, and commended the company’s ability to execute power distribution effectively.

He also appealed to the public for continued patience during the intermittent power outages necessitated by the connection process. He clarified that these outages are controlled and essential for integrating the power ship into the grid.

Meanwhile, the Head of GPL’s Executive Management Committee, Kesh Nandlall, highlighted the installation of a new transmission line to facilitate the ship’s connection to the national grid.

“We will start the ship up and conduct some testing and we should be ready to deliver electricity to the grid as promised before Christmas. So far, we don’t anticipate any major issues. We have done our protection testing and we will soon do our protection testing on the vessel,” Nandlall explained.

As of Sunday, work was underway to connect the 3.9-kilometre transmission line which consists of 22 structures.

The new power ship will add a total of 75 megawatts to the national grid, with 60 megawatts delivered in the first phase and an additional 15 megawatts in the second phase.

The agreement for the ship’s rental was signed in early November between GPL and UCC Holdings.