The Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation has begun implementing punitive measures to reduce damage to public utilities caused by construction activity and traffic accidents.
Speaking on the Starting Point Podcast on Sunday, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, said the move comes as the country experiences unprecedented growth with construction taking place across multiple sectors.
He added that while the rapid expansion is seen as a sign of progress, it has also increased the risk of damage to electricity and water networks.
“The answer to that is it is a collective problem. It requires collective effort,” Minister Indar said.
The minister explained that the volume of ongoing projects means that contractors, heavy-duty equipment, and utility infrastructure are often operating in close proximity.
He estimated that 99 per cent of power outages not attributed to scheduled or publicly announced maintenance are caused by external factors, including excavation work, vehicles striking utility poles and cranes coming into contact with power lines.
Thus, the government is incorporating penalties into contracts, requiring contractors to take greater responsibility when working near public utilities.
“We are going to put it in the contracts, punitive measures. You have to take care when you are using equipment next to utilities that affects everybody else,” he said.
Alongside the new contractual requirements, the ministry has also pursued legal action against those responsible for damaging public infrastructure.
Minister Indar recalled one incident in which a crane operator triggered a nationwide disruption after operating too close to transmission infrastructure.
The outage, he said, caused repeated failures while engineers attempted to restore the system and resulted in extensive damage to electrical equipment at Garden of Eden.
‘We charged them $30 million for the damage. We are taking them to court,” he said.
In another case, a contractor was charged $8 million after damaging utility infrastructure in a backlands area.
The minister stressed that these actions have contributed to a reduction in incidents.
He said the government intends to strengthen accountability by ensuring contractors bear the financial cost of the damage they cause.
The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) have also been recovering costs from contractors whose work disrupts essential services.
The public utilities minister stated that when excavators rupture water mains, entire communities can lose water pressure, leaving residents without service while repairs are carried out.
Although he acknowledged that the majority of contractors operate responsibly, stronger enforcement is necessary for those who fail to follow safety procedures.