HGP Nightly News – Guyana’s electricity problems may be bigger than a shortage of generating power.
As consumers continue to endure repeated blackouts, Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is acknowledging that parts of the national grid are struggling to cope with the amount of electricity now being demanded.
GPL executive Kesh Nandlall made the admission at a news conference on Monday, pointing to weaknesses within the distribution network that have been exposed by recent outages.
Among the trouble spots is the Kingston Substation, which GPL linked to the latest major disruption.
The revelation comes as frustration continues to build among households and businesses following a string of interruptions, including widespread outages across parts of Demerara and Berbice. Having electricity available is one thing; getting it safely through a network under strain is another.
GPL says the crunch point comes between 7 PM and 9 PM, when demand reaches its highest level for the day. That evening surge is putting additional pressure on infrastructure that, in some areas, is already operating close to its limits.
At present, GPL has 253.6 megawatts of generation capacity available, with another five megawatts expected to come on stream by Wednesday.
On paper, that sounds like some breathing room. But more generation does not automatically solve a distribution problem.
GPL has previously acknowledged that some feeders and other parts of the network have reached their thermal limits. In simple terms, sections of the grid can only carry so much electricity before the equipment becomes overloaded.
And when demand keeps climbing, that leaves less room for error.
A system already operating under heavy pressure can trip when overloaded, triggering outages and adding to the very problem consumers have been complaining about.
That leaves GPL with a difficult balancing act: keep enough power flowing to meet growing demand while upgrading a network that is itself struggling to keep pace.
