GPL seeking over $8M from contractor after transmission line damaged on East Bank

The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) says it is moving to recover more than $8 million from a contractor after heavy-duty machinery reportedly damaged a major transmission line on the East Bank Demerara, triggering widespread power disruptions on Monday.

In a statement issued Tuesday, GPL said investigations confirmed that machinery operated by S. Joseph Transportation & Machinery Rental came into direct contact with the L1 Transmission Line linking the Garden of Eden and Grove substations during works at the Grove New Housing Scheme Backlands area.

The incident occurred around 10:17 hrs on May 18 and resulted in significant interruptions to electricity supply across several communities, affecting tens of thousands of customers.

GPL said the outage caused major disruptions to households, businesses and essential services.

As a result, the power company has issued what it described as a “strongly worded” letter to the contractor and is seeking to recover $8,059,361 in operational losses linked to the incident.

According to GPL, the company has been given 14 days to settle the amount, failing which legal proceedings will be initiated.

GPL also used the opportunity to warn contractors and operators of heavy equipment about the dangers of working near electrical infrastructure.

“Strict adherence to all safety protocols when working near electrical lines is mandatory,” GPL said, while warning that breaches will attract “decisive action,” including financial recovery and court action.