Gov't hands over $100M for GPL fuel
-only ten-day reprieve
Stabroek News
March 11, 2003
The government yesterday made payments of $100M to Guyana Power and Light (GPL), which will cover fuel supplies for another ten days but what happens after that is not certain.
Prime Minister Sam Hinds yesterday confirmed that the sum covers a past payment on behalf of the government and some advance payments to allow the company to cover its costs and maintain full generation.
Hinds could not give a timeline on when the government was expected to take a decision on eight outstanding issues in its negotiations with CDC Globeleq to allow definitive arrangements to be put in place for GPL. Hinds said that the issues were still being studied and a decision would be made at the "earliest possible time."
President Bharrat Jagdeo last Friday said he would get more involved in that process.
Hinds indicated that the government was interested in local persons participating in the shareholding of GPL and would be prepared to entertain proposals to acquire the government's 50% shareholding. However, he indicated that GPL needed immediate action and could not wait on the government to put together a prospectus among other papers required for a public offering.
And in a statement yesterday, the Prime Minister appealed to consumers to conserve electricity and implored workers and consumers to guard against the theft of electricity.
Fuel shortages had prompted GPL to institute an around the clock, eight-hour schedule for blackouts but this was called off on Saturday at 1:30pm after the government agreed to make payments to GPL.
What happens after the next ten days is still to be seen. In the meantime any blackouts will be because of breakdowns in the generation system as the Kingston plant is not in service to make up for the shortfall. This plant was taken out of service last month to conserve on fuel.
