Guyana Power and Light Says Turkish Power Ship is Providing Maximum Capacity to National Grid

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) Monday said that the power ship from Turkey is now providing the maximum capacity of 36 megawatts to the national grid.

In a statement, GPL said the capacity was increased incrementally to the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) and that  “a capacity test was completed today, confirming the powership is now at its maximum capacity of 36 MW.

“This significant boost in generation has resulted in a reduction in service interruptions,” GPL said, noting that over the past two weeks, its technicians and those from the Karpowership, , have been working around the clock to hook the ship up to the national grid.

Last month, the GPL announced the payment of one million US dollars for the two-year rental of the power ship.
GPL in outlining the terms of the agreement, said that the contract requires it to pay Urbacon Concessions Investments, W.L.L (UCI),  a monthly charter fee of US$6.62  per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the power ship, as well as a monthly operation and maintenance fee of US0.98  cents per kWh based on electricity generation.

The contract includes the provision of operational and maintenance services as part of the agreement. UCI is a subsidiary of UCC Holdings, a company incorporated in the State of Qatar. UCC Holdings has a strategic alliance with Karpowership International, a Turkish company.

Government has assured consumers, who have been reeling from electricity blackouts, that there will be no increase in electricity charges during the period of the agreement.

A government statement said that the temporary arrangement will be in place for two years, essentially until the transformative gas-to-energy power plant comes online in 2025.