Guyana: Government Addresses Karpowership Contract Negotiations Amid Opposition Demands

The Government of Guyana has issued a statement regarding its ongoing contract renewal negotiations with Turkish energy company Karpowership. This announcement comes after the parliamentary opposition, specifically A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), demanded formal answers in the National Assembly. Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, confirmed that discussions are actively taking place and emphasized the administration’s commitment to securing financially viable terms for the state.

Minister Indar’s statement follows public speculation and criticism regarding the government’s previous silence on the status of the emergency grid assets. He sought to alleviate concerns about grid stability, particularly in light of warnings that Karpowership might discontinue electricity supply if a new commercial agreement is not finalized by June 1. Indar reassured citizens that technical teams are engaged in negotiations to protect the treasury while ensuring a continuous electricity supply.

In addressing recent localized blackouts affecting coastal communities, Minister Indar clarified that these outages are not due to a lack of power generation capacity. Instead, he attributed the disruptions to infrastructure maintenance and issues caused by third-party contractors. He stated, “I want to reassure the population that no power outage is occurring due to a lack of power generation. Rather, there may be power outages due to maintenance of the power grid and interruptions caused by private contractors.”

The opposition’s inquiries, led by MP Ganesh Mahipal, included questions about potential payment demands from Karpowership, fiscal justifications for any rate hikes, assessments of grid impact if the ships go offline, and measures to prevent load-shedding before the gas project is operational. While Minister Indar’s statement did not directly address these specific inquiries, he noted that the public would be informed at a later stage regarding the completion of the contractual negotiations.

The two dual-fuel powerships play a critical role in Guyana’s electricity generation, especially as the Wales Gas-to-Energy project faces delays, making the country reliant on these vessels to meet its energy needs.

Source: hgptv.com