Bartica electricity supply on the mend

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:01 by GxMedia

Residential and commercial electricity consumers in Bartica are expected to breathe a sigh of relief with the expected end to prolonged blackouts and erratic power supply.

The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) on Wednesday announced that electricity generation to the gold-dependent township has been restored to full capacity as a result of the installation to two generators, enabling the company to  satisfy energy demand continuously.

The power company also announced that in its endeavor to further improve the quality of supply, it is poised to upgrade its distribution system, the first phase of which will commence on Friday, September 27, 2013.  

During this phase, the North distribution line will be upgraded from 4.160KV to 13.8KV. Concomitant with this exercise, GPL will install and commission a 13.8KV sub-station transformer.  Distribution at the higher voltage will lead to improvement in the voltage levels and quality of supply.

In order to facilitate the upgrades,  residents in the area between First and Fifth Streets and  First and SeventhAvenues and Caribese Hill will be without power for short periods between 6 AM and 4 PM. GPL thanked its customers for their patience understanding and apologizes for any convenience this may cause.

GPL also announced that further near-term improvements would involve the relocation of the existing generation site; while at the same time installing a new generating set of 2MW capacity (current peak demand is approximately 1.5MW).  This new unit will have the capacity to satisfy the projected increasing demand, with second-hand sets as backup.

The power company apologized for any inconvenience that would be caused by that disruption as it continues to strive to provide a consistent supply of electricity to its customers countrywide.