Bartica residents complain about blackout; GPL says working to fix problems

Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 July 2014, 22:14 by GxMedia

Residents and businesses at Bartica have been complaining about frequent blackouts in recent days , but the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) is assuring that every effort is being made to kick-start one of the generators.

“We are trying our best and working around the clock and we are hoping that everything will be regularized very soon,” a company spokeswoman told Demerara Waves Online News.

She  explained that the Number 8 generator has been down for several days now because of a problem with the installation resistance of the alternator.  She said that the mining township was now totally dependent on the Number 9 generator which has been tripping every three or four hours.

The official said that in an effort to reduce the load on the lone generator during peak periods, a number of areas are experiencing blackouts from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM.

The GPL official acknowledged that the generators at Bartica were old and promised to provide details shortly about plans to install new ones.

Technicians from Georgetown have taken up spares parts and are hopeful that they would complete repairs to the Number 8 generator. The official said that technicians would then seek to rectify the tripping problem on the Number 9 generator.

While the power company official said the blackout woes only began a few days ago, residents at Bartica have complained that they have been experiencing prolonged blackouts for the past three weeks. “Bartica is in its third week of prolonged power outages and no one seems to care. There has been no public announcement either from GPL or the Regional (Seven) officials as residents continue to suffer due to lack of proper electricity supply,” a resident told Demerara Waves.

The GPL official, however, stated that the utility company has been broadcasting messages to consumers on television.