The government invested $39 billion in 2024 to boost the energy capacity of the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL).
These initiatives included the establishment of major energy plants, which have since bolstered the company’s electricity generation capabilities.
Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips disclosed this information during his 2024-year-end press briefing on Monday, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.
“These projects include the Wartsilla plant which saw an injection of $10.7 billion, and the Columbia plant which was $4.1 billion. An amount of $24.1 billion was also expended on fuel assistance,” the prime minister stated.
Wartsila is a 46.5-megawatt dual-fuel power plant project that was placed at the Garden of Eden Generating Complex on the East Bank of Demerara.
The project acts as an immediate boost to the reliability of Guyana’s electricity system and supports the near-term integration of renewables into the grid.
On the other hand, the Columbia power plant along the East Coast of Demerara now contributes 30 megawatts of energy to the national grid.
The project includes 17 generators and six step-up transformers.
In April of 2024, the prime minister visited the site where 14 generators were already installed and three more were in the process of being inserted into the plant.
The government developed these two major plants to meet the electricity demand that continues to persist.
The prime minister added that $852.6 million was spent to support pensioners, thereby cutting their cost of electricity.
This amount benefitted some 28,420 pensioners countrywide.
According to the prime minister, this is one of the key measures that was put in place by the PPP/C Government to increase the disposable income of pensioners and make their lives easier. (Department of Public Information)
