GPL promises reliable electricity during holidays- looking to reduce losses by 2%

The board and management of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Company are looking to decrease the percentage in loss reduction by two percent by year-end. This is expected to ensure a more reliable electricity supply.

The top brass of the GPL today detailed the scope of works to be undertaken under the recently announced $1.6B Inter-American Development Board (IDB) and European Union (EU) funded consultancy contract is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the company and reduce losses under the Power Utility Upgrade Programme.

This contract will run for three years and will be undertaken by a Canadian company, Manitoba Hydro International Limited.

This Management Strengthening programme will be executed in three components which GPL Chairman, Robert Badal says are all intended to improve the resources of the utility company, through formal and informal training focused on industry best practices. It will also assist GPL’s senior management in creating a target state (vision) for the company.

Once the target state is defined, MHI will work closely with GPL management to formulate the business plans aimed at achieving the overall vision. This plan will include mapping out GPL’s core business processes.

Under the second component, it will focus on improving the operational efficiency of the company with 4.3 million US Dollars earmarked for this goal.

However in the short term, Mr Badal says the company for this year is looking to reduce losses by as much as two percent from the 29 percent it now stands at.

This he says is a continuous process.

In operation for over 130 years, Manitoba Hydro is a vertically integrated, government-owned Canadian Provincial Crown Corporation. The corporation is a major energy utility that is intimately involved in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of electricity and gas infrastructure.