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Laying of the cable at Princes Street, Georgetown and across the Demerara River (GPL composite photo)

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June 17 2019

The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has successfully laid a new 13.8 kV submarine cable across the Demerara River and it is now providing over 5 Megawatts (MW) of power to the Eastern Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS), bringing an end to the daily scheduled load shedding activities.

However, GPL explained yesterday that customers on the West Bank and West Coast of Demerara may still experience periods of service interruptions because of the instability of the Vreed-en-Hoop plant, which has been disconnected from the rest of the DBIS.

Added to that, it said the inadequate reserve capacity, made worse by the absence of the damaged 69 kV cable, may result in generation shortfall and periodic service interruptions in the Eastern DBIS.

A release from the power company reminded that when its 69 kV cable sustained damages, this led to the unavailability of 14 MW of generation to the Eastern DBIS. While remedial works to the damaged cable are progressing, and the company is working closely with the contractor to β€œexpeditiously complete repairs and have the cable back in operation in the shortest possible time,” as part of GPL’s emergency plan, it decided to lay the new 13.8 kV cable to make up for the shortfall in generating capacity.

The new cable spans an approximated 4,000 feet from Princes Street, Georgetown, to the GPL power station at Vreed-en-Hoop on the West Coast of Demerara.

It was stated that the routing and laying of the new cable were achieved with support from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), Gaico Construction Services and staff from GPL’s Project Management Department, Engineering Services, System Planning and Designs, Network Operations and System Control and Engineering Services departments.

The company said that despite inclement weather, the new poles were planted and the additional overhead line sections completed within a few days. The release said plans are in place to have the cable buried at least three metres beneath the riverbed, and it will be monitored by MARAD, as steps are taken to keep the cable safe from oceangoing vessel damage.

In addition to the new cable, GPL also returned two generating units to Anna Regina to boost generation during peak periods. Those units have an aggregate capacity of 2 MW.

GPL also stated that one of its second largest units, a 7.8 MW unit, is back in operation after being unavailable for planned maintenance.

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GPL officials on Wednesday expressed concerns about the location of the submarine cable in the country’s busiest shipping ports.

Patterson said that was a poor engineering decision and as a result, the Maritime Administration cannot dredge the river to a certain depth.

The cable was installed in March 2012 by China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) as part of a US$5 million project for the upgrade of GPL’s transmission and distribution systems.

CMC is the company responsible for its maintenance.

https://newsroom.gy/2019/06/06...gpl-submarine-cable/


 

The question is why the Chinese was contracted to install the cable in 2012. It appears GPL could have done it with support of local companies.

Django
Last edited by Django
Django posted:

 

 

The question is why the Chinese was contracted to install the cable in 2012. It appears GPL could have done it with support of local companies.

Perhaps the Chinese get it done in a timely manner. ( Maybe the Chinese supply and install )

It takes a dozen GPL men to plant a light pole.. 7-8 hours. 

They would leave the old pole standing, which would eventually fall on the electrical wire or someone’s home. 

FM

Oh, I forget to add and remind you. 

The current government was accusing PPP of selling out Guyana to the Chinese.. rite .

Harmon then went to China to find the missing 5M .. remember .. gud. Upto now, no one knows who paid for his trip. 

And them/ Harmon award the contract to CMC,  which was 1 Billions dollars more than the engineer estimate. And 1 Billions dollars more that Cummings electrical - a local company. 

This story Dey somewhere . Yo is a resourceful man.. wah wrang suddenly. 

 

FM
Dave posted:
Django posted:

The question is why the Chinese was contracted to install the cable in 2012. It appears GPL could have done it with support of local companies.

Perhaps the Chinese get it done in a timely manner. ( Maybe the Chinese supply and install )

So this cable wasn't run in a timely manner ? what's your take.

Django
Last edited by Django
Dave posted:

Oh, I forget to add and remind you. 

The current government was accusing PPP of selling out Guyana to the Chinese.. rite .

Harmon then went to China to find the missing 5M .. remember .. gud. Upto now, no one knows who paid for his trip. 

And them/ Harmon award the contract to CMC,  which was 1 Billions dollars more than the engineer estimate. And 1 Billions dollars more that Cummings electrical - a local company. 

This story Dey somewhere . Yo is a resourceful man.. wah wrang suddenly. 

 

 Recycling same things over and over, find some thing new, ayuh running out fire power.

Django
Django posted:
Dave posted:

Oh, I forget to add and remind you. 

The current government was accusing PPP of selling out Guyana to the Chinese.. rite .

Harmon then went to China to find the missing 5M .. remember .. gud. Upto now, no one knows who paid for his trip. 

And them/ Harmon award the contract to CMC,  which was 1 Billions dollars more than the engineer estimate. And 1 Billions dollars more that Cummings electrical - a local company. 

This story Dey somewhere . Yo is a resourceful man.. wah wrang suddenly. 

 

 Recycling same things over and over, find some thing new, ayuh running out fire power.

You asked a question.. isn’t so !! below is your question. 

β€œ The question is why the Chinese was contracted to install the cable in 2012. It appears GPL could have done it with support of local companies”

 you need to pull your head out your arss and face the truth. There is a history to the story but you suffer from selective amnesia ..

here is your answer. 

GPL pays $1B more than the engineer’s estimate – stench of corruption unmistakable

In early 2016, Minister Joe Harmon mysteriously visited China. Questions still abound relating to why he went, who he met and who paid for the trip for him and his team. He insisted he went to find the US million that a Chinese company owes Guyana for the Government’s GTT shares. It is clear, however, that this was a made-up excuse for a trip that elicited major suspicion, suspicions that persist.

But suddenly after Harmon’s China trip, the Chino-phobia that APNU/AFC manifested while in Opposition disappeared. In Opposition, they had accused the PPP of selling out Guyana to the Chinese. Now APNU/AFC has granted a GPL contract to a Chinese company worth $4.6 billion, more than $1 billion higher than both the engineer’s estimate and the lowest bid. Enquiring minds want to know if there is any link between Harmon’s trip to China and this GPL contract. The dots are screaming for connection.

In late 2015, a tender to install 25,000 smart meters and a length of transmission lines with an engineer’s estimate of $3.5 billion was advertised in the local and international media. The submitted bids were opened in February 2016. Five companies tendered for the project – China National Machinery Import and Export/Sino Hydro Corporation (China) – $7.1 billion; Multi Electrical System NV (Suriname) – $6.4 billion; China National Machinery Import and Export (CMC)/China Sinogy Electric Engineering Co Limited – $4.6 billion; Cummings Electrical Limited – $3.67 billion and Enrique Lourido/Fixit Depot – $3.5 billion.

After the opening of bids in February 2016, nine months of secrecy followed before Cabinet provided a β€œno-objection” in November 2016. The contract with CMC, the Chinese company, was more than $1 billion higher than the engineer’s estimate and more than $1 billion higher than the two lowest bids, both of which were from local contractors – Cummings Electrical, whose bid was $3.67 billion, and Fixit Depot in collaboration with Enrique Lourido of Colombia, whose bid was $3.5 billion. Cummings Electrical has a long history of high-quality work in Guyana and Fixit’s partner has done more complicated smart meters and transmission lines installation in Colombia and other countries in South and Central America.

When Fixit challenged the award in court, the Attorney General argued that the local contractors were disqualified based on international procurement rules, not on the Procurement Act of Guyana. The AG further argued that there was an urgency moving forward with the contract, given that it took so long to be awarded. He contended further that any further delay would lead to Guyana losing the loan. Essentially, he argued that barring the local companies is merely collateral damage for APNU/AFC’s sloth. Noteworthy, neither the European Union nor IDB ever indicated they will rescind the loan because of the long process. Like the parking meter contract, these excuses give fodder to the growing perception that this GPL contract is another incredible APNU/AFC corrupt deal.

CMC, the winning bidder, had a previous GPL contract to install underwater transmission lines across the Demerara River. APNU/AFC in Opposition castigated the PPP for what they pronounced as β€œpoor, incompetent and below acceptable quality” work. They, in fact, opposed payments to CMC when CMC approached the PPP Government for increased cost of the project. Suspicious minds want to know how CMC, therefore, was able to overcome β€œpoor performance” on the Demerara River transmission line to get approved for this contract.

Even as the CMC contract with its more than $1 billion higher price tag is stirring public outrage, there is another GPL contract given to a mystery company to replace WΓ€rtsilΓ€. The Minister of Infrastructure has strenuously avoided answers to the PPP’s questions in Parliament relating to this arrangement. This same Minister had initially refused to fire the APNU/AFC-appointed GPL CEO in 2015 for unauthorised sole-sourcing prepaid meters at a cost of $870 million. Fortunately, the corrupt deal was leaked and APNU/AFC reluctantly abandoned it to avoid a scandal. Public outrage then led to the resignation of the CEO.

Even as these GPL scandals are coming to the attention of the public, GPL’s operation is worsening on a daily basis, bringing back fears of the 1980s, when blackout hours exceeded non-blackout hours several fold. The APNU/AFC-appointed Chairman of the Board, one of their donors, Robert Badal, was one of the critics who promoted, along with APNU/AFC, Chino-phobia in Guyana. China has been a good friend of Guyana and Chinese companies have served Guyana well. But clearly something is amiss in the present APNU/AFC-GPL arrangement. Follow the stench, connect the dots, and corruption is bound to show up. (Send comments to doc_ram@hotmail.com and see my fb page at ramsammypl@gmail.com)

FM
Django posted:

Dave, what have you gathered from the award to CMC to install the submarine cable ? 7 yrs after it's damaged due to poor planning and installation.Trying your best to evade, coming up short.

I know you are smart, but choose to be ignorant on the information provided,  its common sense knowledge.  

You are the KING of evading. Granger should make a special award fo yo. 

FM
Dave posted:
Django posted:

Dave, what have you gathered from the award to CMC to install the submarine cable ? 7 yrs after it's damaged due to poor planning and installation.Trying your best to evade, coming up short.

I know you are smart, but choose to be ignorant on the information provided,  its common sense knowledge.  

You are the KING of evading. Granger should make a special award fo yo. 

From the information you presented , what have you gathered from the CMC contract ?

Django
Django posted:
Dave posted:
Django posted:

Dave, what have you gathered from the award to CMC to install the submarine cable ? 7 yrs after it's damaged due to poor planning and installation.Trying your best to evade, coming up short.

I know you are smart, but choose to be ignorant on the information provided,  its common sense knowledge.  

You are the KING of evading. Granger should make a special award fo yo. 

From the information you presented , what have you gathered from the CMC contract ?

I know what I gather!! What  have YOU found out... it’s common sense knowledge... don’t be a prick. 

FM
Dave posted:
Django posted:
Dave posted:
Django posted:

Dave, what have you gathered from the award to CMC to install the submarine cable ? 7 yrs after it's damaged due to poor planning and installation.Trying your best to evade, coming up short.

I know you are smart, but choose to be ignorant on the information provided,  its common sense knowledge.  

You are the KING of evading. Granger should make a special award fo yo. 

From the information you presented , what have you gathered from the CMC contract ?

I know what I gather!! What  have YOU found out... it’s common sense knowledge... don’t be a prick. 

Why being nasty ??? by the way the information you presented , tell we what the writer (s) trying to prove.

Seeing you gathered the information on CMC ,did anyone goofed up ?

Django

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