Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon at a press briefing yesterday told the media that the discussions have been concluded and the government negotiating team, headed by Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Shaik Baksh are in the process of compiling their report on the talks which is to be submitted to Prime Minister Sam Hinds for his study in the shortest possible time.

One of the more contentious issues is the decision on whether GPL would be accessing the final tranche of US$3.5M under the investment agreement, Dr. Luncheon reported and offered that this matter would be pronounced upon by an arbitration-like panel.

Meanwhile, the HPS said that GPL continues to experience cash flow difficulties which is threatening the provision of a regular and reliable electricity supply.

During the discussions all possible options were explored by both sides in efforts to hammer out mutually accepted conditions to ensure the continuous provision of electricity, Dr. Luncheon said.

While the talks have not led to conclusive agreements, it facilitated the narrowing of the gap between the two parties on the options identified to move the process forward.

The options that were identified include the withdrawal of AC Power from GPL, the collaboration of the two parties towards a secure financial environment of GPL and the way in which targets and standards would be addressed by both sides.

GPL Agreement
A team from AC Power which represents the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), one of the shareholders of the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL, has been holding discussions on the current agreement in the electricity sector with the intention of resolving the issues affecting the provision of a reliable supply of electricity at a reasonable cost. The other shareholder is the Government of Guyana.

Cabinet took the position that an extremely comprehensive approach is needed to resolve the multitude of problems confronting the company and to provide a solution that would see the company return to provision of power to consumers and adherence to the agreements that were concluded and are currently under discussion.

Electricity bills were set to be higher from February 1, but the move by the power company came under heavy fire by city businessmen and from other sections of society and the matter eventually ended up in court which has put the proposed increases on hold.

GPL had submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) prescribed information showing that energy (kwh) rates will be increased by between 13.9% for residential consumers and 16.6% compared to rates billed in December last year.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of GPL, John Lynn: "While no one likes to see a tariff increase, we wish to note that the increases are needed to permit GPL to meet expenditures essential to the maintenance and improvement of electricity supply to our customers."