Following a weekend of multiple power outages, including a five-hour blackout across the country, the Head of GPL’s Management Committee, Kesh Nandlall said an increase in the load on the national grid is responsible for the power supply problems.

At a press conference today, Mr. Nandlall explained that the demand for electricity peaked at 257 megawatts at the start of September, compared to a peak demand of 221 megawatts in 2025.

He said the peak demand occurs between 7pm and 9pm when the majority of the more than 250,000 consumers are at home. It is believed that the ongoing El Nino condition is driving up the use of air conditioning units, and ultimately the use of electricity.

“Everybody puts on their air conditioning unit, their fans, their lights, and it creates a significant surge, a requirement of power,” he said.

He said the situation has placed a significant strain on the Demerara-Berbice Integrated System (DBIS) with the feeders and transformers now overloaded.

“The reality is that the distribution system is now facing challenges, feeders are now being overloaded, transformers are now being taxed and overloaded. Some people get voltage fluctuations,” Nandlall explained.

GPL’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Bharat Harjohn said between Saturday night and Monday morning there were two major shutdowns due to “system disturbances” at the Kingston Substation.  It was explained that on Saturday night one of the company’s main transformers at the Kingston Substation developed an electrical fault, resulting in the shutdown. A similar incident occurred this morning.

“Now, this morning situation we saw a heavy spike in the current on the submarine cable that moves from Vreed-en-Hoop to Kingston and we also saw the two transformer trip at Vreen-en-Hoop – one at Vreed-en-Hoop and one at Kingston. Now we are presently investigating that to get to the root of that spike in the system,” Harjohn explained.

The company said it is constantly investing in the national grid, but the rapid increase in demand is putting pressure on the grid. It therefore wants consumers to conserve on their electricity use.

The company is expected to launch a public relations blitz on power conservation and responsible electricity use, especially during the ongoing el nino period.

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