The Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation has taken proactive measures following two significant power outages affecting customers in Demerara and Berbice on December 9 and December 10, 2025.
The first outage occurred on Tuesday, December 9, around 22:06 hours when customers experienced an interruption in electricity supply due to heavy arcing and a short circuit at the 69kV Transformer at the Kingston Substation. Smoke was observed coming from the transformer panel, prompting an immediate dispatch of a technical team to investigate. The root cause was identified as a damaged cable, which was isolated to safely restore power. Incremental restoration efforts continued until all affected areas were repowered by approximately 00:30 hours on Wednesday, December 10.
However, shortly after, at 11:19 hours on the same day, the 69kV line linking the Edinburgh and Vreed-en-Hoop Substations tripped while transmitting about 15 megawatts (MW) of power. This sudden loss caused a cascading effect that disrupted service across the grid in Demerara and Berbice. Teams were quickly dispatched and found that the disruption was caused by the operation of heavy machinery near the transmission lines. Power was partially restored within 30 minutes, with full restoration achieved within approximately 90 minutes.
The Ministry highlights that the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has sufficient baseload generation capacity—over 250MW—to meet the current demand of 210MW. Nonetheless, frequent service disruptions have occurred due to heavy-duty equipment—including excavators, cranes, and cement pump trucks—operating too close to transmission lines. Recent incidents involving reckless vehicle operation have further exacerbated these disruptions, adversely affecting thousands of customers.
In light of these events, the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation is urging all road users and equipment operators to exercise caution when working near GPL infrastructure to mitigate potential service losses.
To enhance response times and service reliability, the Ministry, in collaboration with GPL, has commissioned over 30 emergency teams throughout the country to address any emergencies that may arise. The Ministry continues to work closely with GPL to ensure the reliable supply of electricity to all customers.
