CABINET Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday said the handling of the complex electricity sector by the crisis-plagued Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) is "very discouraging" and "disgusting" and is creating continuous annoyance to consumers.

"The situation in the electricity sector has been said by the company to be quite complex, and it is a view that is shared by Cabinet," Luncheon told a news conference at the Office of the President in Georgetown.

He, however, said the impact of GPL's handling of the complicated sector is "very discouraging" and creates continuous grief for Guyanese.

"...so much so that today personalities and individuals are reckless in their sweep of condemnation of the major players, including the administration," he pointed out.

Luncheon added, "the sad reality is that GPL is not living up to expectations notwithstanding its claims, most of which are patently obvious."

He reiterated that Cabinet continues to be quite concerned about the situation and has welcomed the contingencies proposed in specific areas, especially in the eastern part of Guyana and in Region Three (Pomeroon/Supenaam).

"Our anticipation must be that this situation would improve in the shortest possible timeframe," Luncheon said.

The repeated criticisms of GPL by the Government is against the backdrop of public complaints about prolonged power outages.

President Bharrat Jagdeo told a news conference last month that shareholders of the crisis-plagued GPL may now have to meet and decide on the future of the company's management contract since the service it was providing consumers was "very disgusting".

"It's disgusting...what's taking place at GPL (and) I don't want to hear excuses...," President Jagdeo had said.

GPL has been repeatedly and severely criticised in recent times with questions raised about its huge management contracts, the level of services it provides consumers and its increases in rates and charges.

Luncheon noted that the Government's concerns have been shared with the major shareholders of the power company, the Commonwealth Development Corporation/ Electricity Supply Board of Ireland (CDC/ESBI) consortium.

"It is our anticipation that the major shareholders will be examining those features that the Government has drawn to their attention and armed with a sufficiency of information of the Guyanese consumers, they may be able to exert some influence on the way in which the company performs...perhaps even to have some examination or re-examination of norms that (it) established in living up to its contractual obligations," Luncheon said. - (MARK RAMOTAR).