The demand for electricity in Guyana is expected to increase by 600% by the year 2030, according to Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Executive, Kesh Nandlall.

Mr. Nandlall made the comment during a panel discussion at the just concluded Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo.

He told the conference on Thursday that the Gas-to-Energy Project will play a major role in boosting the GPL’s generating capacity.

In 2025, the demand for electricity peaked at 236 megawatts. At present the Demerara-Berbice Integrated System’s available generation capacity stands at approximately 260 megawatts, though its installed capacity is 300 megawatts.

Nandlall said while the demand for electricity is expected to increase marginally in 2026, it is expected to increase from the current 236 megawatts to about 1,650 megawatts by 2030.

He linked the increasing demand for energy to the country’s economic growth. He said in the last five years alone, the demand for electricity grew from 120 megawatts of power in 2020 to 236 megawatts in 2025.

The demand is also reflective of the increase in customers from 201,000 at the beginning of 2020 to 244,000 at the end of 2025.

“So, that significant growth results from existing customer demand growing and new customers. We talk about the rapid development of the housing sector, the development of the industrial sector, so the growth really is in the generation requirement more than the number of customers. The same customers are demanding more, and bigger customers are coming on,” he said.

The GPL CEO said since 2020, the power company has taken steps to increase its generation capacity.

In 2024, amid a spate of power outages, the Government through GPL contracted two power ships – the first delivering 36 megawatts of electricity, and second, an additional 60 megawatts of power.

“From 2020 to now we have added more than 186 megawatts of firm capacity including the 46.5 megawatt at Garden of Eden fossil fuel, we added 28.9 megawatt at Columbia, we have added 36 megawatt power ship in the Berbice River in 2024 around April-May; in December 2024 we added 60 megawatt power ship in the Demerara River. Recently, you would have seen we would have added 18 megawatts of solar to the grid – 10 megawatts in Berbice at three locations and 8 megawatts on the Essequibo Coast in two locations,” Nandlall explained.

He said the power company also increased the capacity of other power systems that are not connected to the national grid, such as 1.5 megawatt of power at Bartica.

He said with the 300 megawatt Power Plant at Wales far advanced, GPL will significantly boost its generation capacity by the end of the year when the project comes on line.

Mr. Nandlall said at present the company is building out the Transmission and Distribution Network to be able to distribute the power across the grid. (Svetlana Marshall)

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