The APNU has accused the PPP/C government of failing to adequately prepare Guyana’s electricity system for the rapid expansion triggered by the country’s oil boom.
APNU argues that the current problems at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) reflect poor planning, inadequate investment and weak execution.
The criticism comes after GPL reported on September 7 that 265.6 megawatts of generation were available against a peak demand of 257 megawatts, while acknowledging inadequate reserve power and identifying overloaded feeders and transformers.
APNU said the figures raise questions about the government’s preparedness, particularly because GPL had projected on August 14 that 280 megawatts of reliable generation would be available by the end of August.
“The government must reconcile these figures, identify unavailable units and explain the shortfall,” APNU said.
The opposition argued that the electricity challenges should have been anticipated as Guyana’s economy expanded following the start of oil production.
“These electricity generation issues reflect incompetence, lack of vision, and the absence of a structured national development strategy and plan,” APNU said.
It argued that any government taking office in 2020 should have recognised the scale of infrastructure investment that would be required, given the expected influx of oil revenues and growth in energy-intensive economic activity.
“Any competent government taking office in 2020, with the pending massive inflow of oil revenues and the expected boom in economic activity, including energy-reliant manufacturing activities, should have recognised that expanded electricity generation and upgraded transmission and distribution were absolutely necessary to prevent inadequate power from becoming a bottleneck and strangling the economy.”
According to APNU, the PPP/C had ample warning about the challenges ahead.
The opposition pointed to a 2019 assessment by the International Monetary Fund, which it said identified increased infrastructure investment and expansion of GPL’s generation and transmission capacity as vital to unlocking Guyana’s expected economic growth.
APNU also referenced comments made by Minister of Public Works Deodat Indar in December 2020, months after the PPP/C returned to office, when he publicly acknowledged constraints caused by ageing transmission and distribution systems.
The opposition further cited a 2021 statement by President Irfaan Ali that electricity demand between 2022 and 2027 was expected to nearly triple and that the transmission and distribution network would require a “massive upgrade.”
“These public pronouncements are evidence that the PPP/C knew what was coming,” APNU said.
The party said the current situation demonstrates that the government failed to translate that knowledge into a comprehensive plan.
“Yet, six years later, GPL is reporting overloaded feeders and transformers while hundreds of kilometres of new transmission and distribution infrastructure are still being built. What is missing is a structured national development strategy and plan linking housing, industry and rising demand to generation, transmission, distribution, and maintenance.”
APNU also criticised what it described as a reliance on individual projects and contracts rather than an integrated national strategy.
“A collection of contracts is not a national plan. Buying more generation without ensuring that electricity reliably reaches communities is not an acceptable solution.”
The opposition said the government had sufficient time and resources to address the problem.
“What is clear is that the PPP/C lacks the competence to execute. It knew the condition of the electricity system. It knew the scale of the economic expansion that was coming and the resulting demand for electricity. It had six years and billions of dollars at its disposal to prepare. Yet Guyanese are still suffering as though this growth in electricity demand came as a surprise. It did not. The PPP/C failed to plan, execute, and deliver adequate electricity.”
