HGP Nightly News – President Irfaan Ali has conceded that Guyana cannot guarantee an end to power interruptions, but says the level of blackouts currently being experienced is unacceptable and the country’s electricity system must undergo a major overhaul.
“We cannot promise that there will never be another interruption,” Ali said, acknowledging that failures can occur even in modern electricity systems.
But he was quick to distinguish between the occasional fault and the repeated disruptions now affecting customers.
“Not what we are having now. Unacceptable,” the President said.
His remarks come as Guyana’s electricity demand continues to surge, putting a system already operating under heavy pressure to the test.
Ali said the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System, which serves about 230,000 customers, has seen peak demand climb from roughly 205 megawatts in 2024 to 242.6 megawatts in August 2026; an increase of about 18 percent.
That growth is far above the three to four percent average increase in electricity demand across Latin America and the Caribbean cited by the President.
And the pressure is expected to get much worse.
An Inter Energy assessment presented by Ali projects that electricity demand could increase by approximately 138 percent by 2029, while GPL is expected to take on more than 62,000 additional customers.
The growth is being driven not just by new homes, but by businesses, hotels, major industries, construction projects and expanding housing developments.
Ali said the strain is already being felt at the generation level, with available capacity operating close to peak demand and leaving little room to take units offline for routine maintenance.
That creates a dangerous squeeze: when the system is already running hard and a piece of equipment fails, the impact can spread across a much wider area.
The government’s response, according to Ali, is to stop trying to keep pace with demand and instead build ahead of it.
That means a broad expansion of Guyana’s electricity infrastructure, covering generation, transmission and distribution.
Gas-to-Energy is expected to bring additional generation capacity onto the system, while the government is also pursuing a more diversified energy mix to reduce dependence on conventional fuel-based generation and exposure to international fuel prices.
Fuel costs have already become a major headache for GPL.
Ali said imports of refined products have risen by 51 percent since January, while diesel used for electricity generation has increased by 86.8 percent.
Despite those increases, he said consumers have not been asked to shoulder the additional cost through higher electricity rates, with the government instead increasing subsidies to GPL.
The government is now seeking additional financing to help GPL meet its fuel costs.
But Ali’s plan goes far beyond simply finding more fuel or adding generating capacity.
More than 360 kilometres of new high-voltage transmission lines are being developed, along with more than 10 new substations. Four existing substations are also being expanded, while two mobile substations are part of the programme.
The plans include about 155 kilometres of new 230-kilovolt double-circuit transmission lines, further expansion of the 69-kilovolt network and a 2.5-kilometre underground 69-kilovolt connection between Vreed-en-Hoop and Kingston.
The National Control Centre is also slated for an upgrade, while advanced metering and a 30-megawatt/60-megawatt battery energy storage system are expected to form part of the modernised system.
The government is also looking at the distribution network — the part of the system that ultimately has to get electricity into homes, businesses and new developments.
Ali said that network must be strengthened as Guyana’s housing developments become larger and increasingly include apartments, commercial facilities and industrial operations.
The Into Energy report has recommended several additional measures, including an independent grid reliability task force, greater use of smart meters and digitisation, more generation capacity and continued investment in transmission and distribution.
Ali also pointed to Qatar as a potential partner for major investment in Guyana’s power infrastructure.
For the President, the message was clear: interruptions cannot be eliminated entirely, but the current situation cannot continue.
“We have to bite the bullet, make the investment,” Ali said.
The admission comes as Guyana’s economy and population continue to put unprecedented demands on a power system that was built for a very different level of consumption.
The government now says it recognises the problem. Its bigger challenge will be proving that the massive investments being promised can strengthen the grid quickly enough to keep up with the country’s explosive growth.
