President halts GPL increases

President halts GPL increases

With various civic groups, the political parties and the business sector all expressing concerns over the proposed 26.7% increase in electricity tariffs, President Donald Ramotar on Friday evening announced that he has made a decision to put that proposed increase on hold.

The President used the launching of this year’s Guyexpo Trade and Exposition event to announce his decision and to say that he is hoping that the National Assembly would restore the $5 Billion that was cut from the budget for Guyana Power and Light Company.

President Ramotar said “we are ready to take it back to parliament tomorrow once we are assured that we will have the support to get it passed so that we can minimise any increase of rates that GPL will be forced to implement”.

Mr. Ramotar met with Executives of the Power Company on Friday at his New Garden Street office to discuss the proposed rate increases and the impact it could have on citizens.

The Guyana Power and Light Company has warned that without the increases and with the company not in a position to make major changes to its generating systems, citizens might be forced to endure more power outages.

Citizens of Georgetown and its surrounding communities are no strangers to the power supply problems and have been experiencing power outages for months, long before the national budget was presented and long before any cuts were made.

The Opposition parties in parliament have been calling on GPL to be more transparent in its work and have asked the company to provide the National Assembly with its plans and projects for the money and they have also been pressing the company to show how it has spent money in the past to improve on the electricity supply.

GPL has also come under fire for its high percentage of line losses and electricity wages and lost revenues. There have been calls by the Opposition for the entire GPL Board of Directors to be replaced.

15th June, 2013

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