GPL gets $4B to improve operations

The $4B investment into the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is intended to improve the operations of the power company to better serve the Guyanese people.

It was revealed that the money forms part of the $44.8B financial paper which was presented to the National Assembly on Monday for supplementary funding. It was disclosed that Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh who presented the financial paper, explained the need for supplementary funding for the entity.

The minister disclosed that when the current government took office in 2020, GPL was one of a number of state-owned enterprises found to be bankrupt.

As such, the power and light company was owed in excess of $12B from other public sector entities. It was noted that the Guyana Forestry Commission and the Guyana Water Incorporated were among the public sector entities that owed GPL billions.

Dr. Singh said that despite the constant increase in the oil on the world market, government has been observing the cost so that it does don’t trickle down to Guyanese.

“This of course, itself has imposed a grave cash flow pressure on GPL. So, this $4 billion represents a further effort to liquidate the long-standing liabilities that are owed to GPL and ease the cash flow challenges that the company is currently facing,” Minister Singh said.

Therefore, the minister noted that since taking office, the government has invested heavily to improve the operations of GPL so that all Guyanese can enjoy a more reliable electricity supply.

Further, the commissioning of GPL’s 46.5-megawatt power plant, Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, was one such investment which cost US$52M.

Additionally, GPL has also been exploring and rolling out a number of initiatives to improve customer service.