The government’s gas-to-energy project at Wales remains on track with the first of four gas turbines expected to be commissioned this year before the remaining units come online in the months that follow.
Speaking on the Starting Point Podcast on Sunday, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar said the first 57-megawatt Siemens gas turbine is expected to be operational in December under the revised agreement with the contractor.
He explained that the remaining three gas turbines are expected to be commissioned about three months later, bringing total gas-fired generation to 228 megawatts. Two additional steam turbines are then expected to come online a few months afterwards, increasing the plant’s total generating capacity to 300 megawatts.
According to the minister, the project will significantly reduce electricity generation costs by replacing imported heavy fuel oil with natural gas as the primary fuel source.
The minister noted that the government has also invested more than US$722 million in transmission lines, substations and other grid infrastructure to ensure the electricity generated at Wales can be transmitted efficiently across the coast.
Accordingly, a new 230-kilovolt transmission network, upgraded substations and a new national control centre are being completed to strengthen the electricity grid and improve reliability.
Consumers should experience more reliable electricity once the gas-to-energy project comes online, as the Siemens turbine technology can recover much faster from system disturbances than the existing reciprocating engines currently used by the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL).
The minister acknowledged that temporary power outages remain necessary while GPL upgrades substations and transfers customers to the new infrastructure, but said these works are essential to modernising the national electricity network.