Coasts on brink of more blackouts

Last Updated on Monday, 14 September 2026, 22:42 by Written By Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali on Monday said the state-owned Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has warned that consumers in Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo coasts that they could face more blackouts because there is no spinning reserve.

He declined to say what steps were being taken, including renting a third power ship to avert major power outages if generators, already overdue for maintenance, have to be pulled out of service. “I would not say. Whatever the situation demands now, we have to have a holistic approach to this,” he told a news conference.

Dr Ali specifically referred to the Essequibo Coast where there was no spinning reserve because the peak demand is at a maximum of power generation. He explained that there was no leverage to take out generators for maintenance because they are all being used to their maximum. “If anything goes wrong there, the entire system shuts down, and I’m being very open with the population on this matter. It is a critical issue,” he said.

GPL says that in Anna Regina, peak demand has increased from 5.75 megawatts (MW) to 12 MW up to earlier September 2026, an increase of approximately 109 percent. The power company also says that while the current total installed firm capacity is 17 MW, the present total available firm generation capacity stands at 14.7 MW.

The President said other areas also do not have spinning reserves. “The challenge is in all of the all of the areas. There is no spinning reserve, absolutely no spinning reserve, and a number of the generators have gone over the overhaul time or their maintenance time are approaching that,” he said.