Guyana set to issue call for 165MW hydro plant

Guyana’s government expects to issue a request for proposals to develop the 165MW Amaila Falls hydro project within two weeks, according to vice president Bharrat Jagdeo.

“We had another interest from a Brazilian company. We’ve had a company from Austria, we had several from Korea,” Jagdeo said during a press conference.

He added that work to update the last process is being finalized, such as reviewing new demand data.

China Railway landed the project in 2021 but the deal fell through when the group requested switching the build-own-operate-transfer contract to an EPC one.

The power grid has come under stress due to growing consumption which Guyana Power and Light (GPL) attributes to high temperatures and growth of the housing and commercial sectors.

GPL said that load demand has hit a record 182MW compared to 154MW a year ago.

To help reduce disruptions, the utility asked large industrial customers with self-generation capacity to produce power during peak hours of 6pm-10pm.

“Regrettably, only a small percentage of these customers responded positively. This partial response has necessitated the need for GPL to proceed to remove these customers from the grid between 18:00hrs and 22:00hrs daily,” the company said.

The government has pinned hopes on the gas to energy project which includes a 300MW power plant.