-PM says following briefing with officials
PRIME Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips on Sunday affirmed that the connection of the new power ship is on target and that power will be available as planned for Christmas.
The Prime Minister made these remarks while conducting a site visit to the Ruimveldt terminal where the second ship is expected to be connected to the local grid, providing an additional 60 megawatts of power.
During the site visit, Prime Minister Phillips expressed confidence in the project’s progress, referring to it as “a commendable effort.”
“Based on the briefing I received this [morning], we are on target. Soon we’ll be connecting the ship, and the power will be available as planned for Christmas,” he said.
PM Phillips acknowledged the challenges posed by controlled power outages but assured final connections and preliminary checks, including engine startups and testing, are set to be completed before the holidays, ensuring readiness for operation.
Prime Minister Phillips added, “We want to ask the people, especially those suffering from power outages as a result of this project, to bear with us. This is a controlled power outage to ensure that we connect and test, so everyone will have more electricity available.”
Against this backdrop, he commended the efforts of the Guyana Power and Light Inc. and its contractor for the execution of the project swiftly within the six-week timeframe.
The project is in its final stages of completion with only the connection, testing and power distribution left to be completed.
The power ship is connected to the grid via a 3.9-kilometre double-circuit line. Supported by approximately 22 structures, it will initially supply 60 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, with an additional 15 megawatts to follow in its second phase.
This infrastructure enables electricity injection at the New Georgetown substation, with additional distribution to the Sophia substation.
