The opposition APNU drilled holes in the Government’s Energy Plan for the country, contending that the plan has fallen short of the demands for increased energy to fuel large scale industries.

Addressing reporters at a press conference today, APNU Member of Parliament, Dr Terrence Campbell, said the announcement by President Irfaan Ali that the Government’s flagship 300 megawatt gas-to-energy project at Wales is on track to be completed by mid-2026, having faced multiple delays, does not bring comfort that the country’s energy demands would be met.

He said while the government’s plans also include the Amaila Falls hydro-power project and solar farms, those projects would not generate sufficient energy to fuel an expanded manufacturing sector, and other large scale industries.

“Energy plans, including Amaila Falls and limited solar additions, do not meet the demands of industrial diversification,” Dr Campbell said.

The Irfaan Ali Administration has repeatedly indicated that the gas-to-energy project, when completed, would see the cost of energy being reduced by approximately 50%. But the APNU contends that the Power Plant and Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility would only replace the installed heavy fuel generating capacity.

“The 300 megawatt would simply replace the heavy fuel generators that we currently have and the government is leaning on the gas-to-energy plant to reduce your electricity bill. But if we are going to truly industrialize this economy a lot more power is needed,” Dr Campbell reasoned.

Campbell said in recognizing that the 300 megawatt power plant would be insufficient to meet the energy needs of the county, the Government announced Phase 2, which would see the construction of a 250 megawatts power facility. He expressed shock and disappointment that the second phase of the project was not featured in President Irfaan Ali’s address to the nation on Wednesday.

“Having recognized that the initial plant that they put down for 300 megawatts was really not going to lead to a significant diversification of the Guyana economy, they came with a second phase a 250 megawatt plant and it is striking that nowhere in the five year plan that the president laid out to us on Wednesday, is there any mention of that 250 megawatts plant,” the APNU Member of Parliament said.

Dr Campbell suspects that the Government may have quietly altered its plans due to the cost and location. 

“The only thing I can arrive at, the only conclusion or inference that I can draw is that they recognized that based on the experience with the gas-to-energy plant, the high stabilization cost, the delays that have led to a lawsuit by Lindsayca that the Wales location was the wrong location for that whole project in the first place,” Dr Campbell contends.

According to him, the APNU Administration had identified Clonbrook on the East Coast of Demerara for the project, but the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in the absence of any feasibility study, changed the location.

He said the country is now reaping the bitter harvest of that hurried and uninformed decision. 

However, President Ali has stated that his Administration will build a second gas-to-energy pipeline that would be routed through Berbice as part of Government’s energy expansion. It is anticipated that by 2030, Guyana would witness a significant increase in the demand for energy countrywide.

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