HGP Nightly News – Guyanese will have to wait until the Gas-to-Energy Project is producing approximately 228 megawatts of electricity before the government implements its promised 50 per cent reduction in electricity rates, Prime Minister Mark Phillips has said.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Phillips announced that the first 57 megawatts are now expected to enter the national grid by the end of 2026, with one of the project’s gas turbines scheduled to begin operating.
“By the end of this year, we’ll see 57 megawatts. At least one of the turbines will be spinning and generating 57 megawatts,” the Prime Minister said.
Generation is expected to rise to approximately 228 megawatts during the first quarter of 2027. Phillips identified that milestone as the completion of the project’s first phase and the point at which consumers should begin receiving lower electricity rates.
“We said 50 per cent reduction at the end of the project, and the project we’re talking about is Phase One. Phase One ends when we get 228 megawatts of power,” he explained.
The government has repeatedly promised to halve electricity costs through the project. Residential customers currently pay approximately G$43.43 per kilowatt-hour, while the commercial rate is around G$56.38.
According to Phillips, those rates would be divided by two once the required generation capacity is reached.
“Whatever you’re paying now, you will pay half of that,” he said, describing the reduction as a commitment contained in the PPP/C’s 2020 and 2025 election manifestos.
The project includes a 300-megawatt combined-cycle power plant and a Natural Gas Liquids facility at Wales, West Bank Demerara. Natural gas will be transported from the offshore Stabroek Block to the facility through a pipeline.
The generation plant will use four SGT-800 gas turbines paired with heat-recovery steam generators and steam turbines. The equipment is designed to allow individual turbines to operate independently and enter the grid in stages.
While approximately 228 megawatts are expected from the gas turbines, the remaining capacity will be generated through the steam component of the combined-cycle system. The full 300-megawatt plant is projected to be completed by the end of 2027.
The latest schedule follows several delays affecting the project. United States-based contractor Lindsayca has now committed to beginning electricity generation before the end of this year.
The planned rate reduction will therefore depend on the contractor meeting the revised schedule and the required generating capacity being successfully connected to the national grid.
