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GPL projects 25,000 new customers in five years
– US$100M-plus plugged in power company within recent years
The state-owned power company, Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL), says that growing demands will see almost 25,000 homes and businesses receiving new services over the next five years, with government plugging over US$100M during recent times to fund capital projects.
This was disclosed yesterday by Chairman Winston Brassington, at the commissioning of an US$18.4M ($3.8B) investment that will see power production being boosted an additional 15.6 Megawatts (MW).
It will in all likelihood represent the last of such investments for generation capacity until the much-touted Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project comes on stream by 2015, the official said.
GPL says that a recent major US$18.4M investment for these Wartsila engines may be the last of its kind before the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project comes on stream in 2015.
The two new engines will mean that over the last two years, on top of the 20.7MW plant commissioned in 2009, Demerara would have seen 36MW of new power installed.
The engines are using the heavy fuel oil (HFO), which is cheaper than the traditional diesel.
“By way of comparison, in 2007, GPL’s fuel mix was derived 52% from HFO and 48% from diesel. Last year, this was 80% HFO and 20% diesel, largely due to the 2009 Wartsila plant and the Guysuco Wartsila 10 MW HFO plant commissioned a year earlier.”
GPL as a result is making huge savings on its fuel bill which could have potentially been as much as US$25M higher.
“Subject to fuel prices, these savings should expand—next year, GPL fuel mix should exceed 90% HFO,” Brassington disclosed yesterday.
Regarding customers, in 2005, GPL had 127,000.
“At the end of 2010, we had 151,000 customers, an increase of approximately 25,000 customers.”
Part of this increase was due to the government-funded Un-served Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP) which over a five-year period built out infrastructure to potentially connect over 42,000 new customers.
“At the end of 2010, 45% or about 19,000 customers had already joined the grid. In 2011, we have seen an acceleration of new applications for service. With monthly application: approaching 700 per month, this represents a doubling since the start of this year. Even allowing for a lower trend, it is projected that we will add another 25,000 customers to the grid within the next five years,” the GPL Chairman told the invitees who included President Bharrat Jagdeo; Energy Minister, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; other Cabinet members and GPL senior management.
“We have attempted to hold tariffs at current levels since the last increase announced at the end of 2007, despite continuing pressure from a generally upward trend in fuel prices. Improving our use of HFO as earlier mentioned is helping, but this alone is not sufficient given the upward trend of fuel prices.”
Another part of GPL’s strategy to reduce costs, he said, is to reduce technical and commercial losses.
“In 2003, this figure was 44%; at the end of last year, it was 31.3%, a 30% reduction. We have found that reducing losses is more challenging than originally thought, but we are moving in the right direction.”
Apart from the investments in the new generators, GPL is spending approximatelyUS$40M to link the transmission network from Berbice to Essequibo.
“These transmission investments, which include seven new substations and a submarine cable, will allow us to optimize our generation capacity, from Guysuco’s Skeldon plant to the Essequibo East Coast. Additionally, these transmission lines/substations will improve the quality of supply, for example voltage fluctuations will be reduced.”
According to Brassington, while in 2002 GPL annual revenues were $12B, last year this rose dramatically to $27B.
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