By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News|
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Hours after the parliamentary opposition demanded formal answers in the National Assembly, the Government of Guyana has finally broken its silence regarding its high-stakes contract renewal negotiations with Turkish energy company Karpowership.
In an official public statement issued on Thursday, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, confirmed that contract discussions are actively ongoing. He assured citizens that the administration is working to secure the most financially viable terms for the state. The sudden update follows days of intense public speculation and heavy criticism over the executive branch’s reluctance to publicly address the status of the emergency grid assets.
Securing the “Best Possible Rate” Beyond the June 1 Threshold
The government’s formal acknowledgment comes amid mounting national anxiety regarding grid stability, following warnings that Karpowership could discontinue its electricity supply if a fresh commercial agreement was not finalized by June 1.
Minister Indar sought to calm consumer fears, emphasizing that the state’s technical teams are fully engaged in protecting the treasury while keeping the lights on.
“There has been much commentary on the renewal of the contract between the Guyana Power and Light Inc. and UC JV with Karpowership,” Minister Indar stated in his official release. “I would like to assure the public that the government of Guyana is working in the best interests of the people of Guyana to get the best possible commercial rate for the renewal of the contract. We continue to be in the negotiation process while the powership maintains an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the national grid.”
“No Generation Shortages”: Outages Blamed on Contractors & Maintenance
Addressing the uptick in localized blackouts that have hit several coastal communities over the past week, the Public Utilities Minister flatly denied that the outages are linked to a drop in total power generation capacity.
Instead, Indar shifted the blame to infrastructure maintenance and third-party industrial accidents.
“I want to reassure the population that no power outage is occurring due to a lack of power generation,” Indar explained accessibly. “Rather, there may be power outages due to maintenance of the power grid and interruptions caused by private contractors.”
APNU Demands Hidden Rates and Contingency Blueprint
The government’s public update was directly triggered by a political maneuver executed earlier on Thursday by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipal. Mahipal submitted a formal letter to Speaker of the National Assembly, Manzoor Nadir, requesting an emergency oral question without notice be put to Minister Indar on the floor of the House.
| Opposition Parliamentary Inquiries | Scope of Demand Filed by Ganesh Mahipal, MP |
| Financial Demands | Has Karpowership demanded payments beyond the original contract terms? |
| Fiscal Justification | If rate hikes exist, what is the exact amount and the state’s justification? |
| Grid Impact Study | Has the state assessed the exact deficit impact if one or both ships go offline? |
| Blackout Defense Plan | What explicit measures are implemented to prevent load-shedding before the gas project? |
While Minister Indar’s subsequent press release completely bypassed answering Mahipal’s specific questions regarding the exact figures being demanded by the Turkish firm, the statement concluded by noting that the public will be fully briefed at a later stage.
“The public will be apprised at the appropriate time on the completion of the contractual negotiations between the Guyana Power and Light Inc. and UC JV with Karpowership,” Indar concluded.
The two dual-fuel powerships currently provide a massive, critical chunk of Guyana’s total electricity generation capacity. Because the multi-million dollar Wales Gas-to-Energy project has suffered structural delays, the country remains highly dependent on these floating vessels to bridge its energy gaps.
