-Hinterland Electrification Co. boss
Head of the Hinterland Electrification Company Horace Williams yesterday said the installation of a temporary generator to restore power to Port Kaituma is being examined.
As Port Kaituma residents continued to protest against the almost onemonth long disruption, Williams told Stabroek News that given the uncertainty as to when the generators at the Port Kaituma Power and Light Company (PKPL) will be repaired, they are currently looking to source a generator that can serve the community in the interim. He said a 650 kW generator is needed to power the community.
Additionally, he noted that the delay in repairing the generators at the PKPL power plant is because needed parts have to be sourced overseas.
He further noted that a supplier has already been contacted and efforts are being made to source the parts. However, he stressed that it is unclear when the parts will be sourced and how long it would take for them to arrive in the country.
The residents on Monday mounted a protest as a result of their frustration with the situation, which has been ongoing for almost a month. Several teachers and office workers from the community joined residents in the continuing protest yesterday.
Residents, who protested in front of the PKLP power station, said they plan to continue protesting for the next five days.
The power company had informed residents earlier this month that they will be without power for at least two weeks.
A Facebook post made by the power company said, “PKPL wishes to inform its customers that as a result of [a] major mechanical issue, power should be restored within two weeks. PKPL sincerely regrets all inconveniences caused.”
Since the power outage, Stabroek News learnt, gasoline prices have skyrocketed in the community. Prices for five gallons of gasoline range between $11,000 and $15,000.
The community, which has been faced with a fuel shortage for several months, has seen a great demand for gasoline in the past few weeks as residents and businesses have turned to using small generators to meet their needs. As a result of the demand for fuel, prices for services, such as transportation, have also increased.
“Residents have to now pay around $2,000 for a taxi when it was a $1,000. School children have to pay between $200 and $500 to get to and from school. It is getting very hard here and we need the government to step in,” a resident, who asked not to be named, said.
Additionally, the resident told this newspaper that bodies at the mortuary are rotting since there is no electricity to power the refrigerators used to store them.
Residents noted too that the price for a bucket of ice have jumped significantly. The price for a five-gallon bucket of ice is between $2,000 and $5,000. A resident said family members of a recently deceased person were forced to purchase ice and take it to the mortuary in order to try to prevent a body from decomposing.