Unacceptable conditions
Editorial
IN THE real bad days of electricity blackouts, when these were daily and dictated people's lives, Guyanese devised ways and means of coping.
So much so that the promoters of even the smallest fashion, dance or music shows advertised these with the assurance to patrons: `stand-by generator available'.
This still obtains and for good reason since power cuts have begun to dog the lives of Guyanese again.
Businesses, offices and other places for which electricity supply is essential have learned by now that an investment in stand-by generators to guard against blackouts from the power company is a good investment.
There have been improvements in the electricity supply in recent years but power cuts cannot yet be ruled out and stand-by generators are not about to be sent back to the storerooms.
Few were surprised by the blackout that hit the National Cultural Centre in Georgetown yesterday morning as the annual investiture ceremony was under way.
The presentation of national awards is an annual feature and a major national event and many had expected that all stand-by arrangements would have been in place for almost any emergency yesterday morning at the National Cultural Centre.
What therefore came as a startling surprise when the lights and the public address system went, was that there was no stand-by generator to be switched on.
At the function were the President of the Republic, a former President, the Chancellor of the Judiciary, the Heads of the Disciplined Services, leading members of the Diplomatic Corps and a string of other dignitaries and the national awardees.
It was unbelievable that there was no stand-by generator at the National Cultural Centre ready to provide back-up power at a premier national event yesterday, given the stark realities of the power supply system and the recent experiences.
Some of the awardees travelled from far to be there for their special moment under the lights yesterday and it was undignified, to say the least, to have these men and women being honoured for their service to their country subjected to such appalling treatment.
And it surely was not dignified to have the Head of State, and a former President and his wife, cooling their heels and shuffling around for almost an hour while officials scratched their heads and prayed for the lights to come back on.
Electricity blackouts have to be catered for and most places have back-up arrangements.
Such arrangements should have also been in place at the National Cultural Centre, especially for a ceremony like yesterday's.
The Guyana Power and Light company, in a statement, said that "for reasons not yet known", a key transmission line tripped and resulted in the shutdown of all generating sets at Kingston in Georgetown and Garden of Eden on the East Bank Demerara.
Many other places in and around the city were affected by the power cut but most easily continued their business with their stand-by generators.
They know the reality and are ready to cope.
The National Cultural Centre is an important venue, not only for night entertainment, and it should have, long ago, had a working and regularly maintained stand-by generator in place for any interruption in the regular power supply.
One wonders what happens when the power goes at night when there's a big show on.
Yesterday's disruption of a major national event was an embarrassment.
And that's putting it mildly.
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