Blackout woes to reduce in Region Six

ERRATIC ELECTRICITY SUPPLY is expected to be reduced in East Berbice/Corentyne
(Region Six) when Junior Public Works Minister, Deodat Indar, commissioned the upgraded 10-
megawatt (MW) volt-ampere reactive (VAR) substation at Canefield.
Frequent and prolonged power outages have been a thorn in Guyanese side for decades and Indar
assured Region Six residents and business owners that a more reliable supply is now available
with the operation of an automated regulating system.

Power supply will be more reliable, and low and high voltages lessened.
Indar told the Department of Public Information (DPI), the upgraded system will help grow the
region’s economy and reduce consumer complaints.
“Businesses need that because you have to refrigerate stuff, you have to keep your equipment
running, all of your pumps, all your all your equipment that run on electricity. Reliable power is
critical to not damaging those things, and you get a lot of that; we get a lot of complaints about
low voltage … where it normally burns your equipment,” he explained.
“You also have the impact of GPL (Guyana Power and Light) on GWI (Guyana Water Inc)
activities. So, the pumps require stable electricity for current flow. If you get a lot of high
voltage, you damage the pumps and you get a water issue. So, that’s what reliable power means
that you don’t have things to blow up your stuff or things that cause your stuff to damage,” the
minister said.
He said that the automated system is integrated to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition,
SCADA which is a software system that collects data from field devices for management and
control purposes.

Minister Indar stressed that the commissioning of the substation is integral to the government’s
agenda of ensuring reliable and cheaper power. He noted that at the substation, the voltage level
GPL customers receive, can be properly regulated electronically, which will reduce the
likelihood of power fluctuation. He pointed out that similar systems will be installed at GPL’s
power stations at Sophia, Edinburg and Good Hope.
While the commissioning of the Canefield Substation will eliminate some of the electricity
woes in the region, Indar confessed that GPL, in the short-term, is working to maintain
heavily deteriorated transmission lines to help decrease the frequency of blackouts.