New 69kV transmission line to facilitate railway embankment highway expansion by November
The government, through the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation, is advancing work on a new 69kV transmission line along the backlands of the East Coast Demerara, which is expected to be completed by the end of November.
This will allow the existing transmission infrastructure along the Plaisance Railway Embankment to be removed and the four-lane highway expansion to proceed without disrupting electricity supply.
Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation, Deodat Indar, provided the update via his Facebook page during a site visit.
Minister Indar explained that the existing line is a critical component of Guyana’s transmission network, carrying 69,000 volts of bulk power along the East Coast Corridor and maintaining the connection between the Demerara and Berbice systems.
“We have plans to move this line to the backlands, and it will be finished around the end of November, where we will move all of these poles out, and we can reroute the power without affecting the people,” Minister Indar explained.
He said the relocation could not be undertaken immediately because removing the existing line without an alternative would require significant electricity outages and risk disconnecting the Demerara and Berbice systems.
To address this, the government has contracted POWERCHINA to construct the new transmission line through the backlands from Ogle to Good Hope.
Work includes preparing the route through wetlands and marshlands, constructing foundations, installing steel monopoles and stringing conductors.
Minister Indar said the new infrastructure is also being equipped with more reliable conductors designed for a longer operational lifespan, noting that major transmission infrastructure is built with a 30-to-40-year outlook.
Guyana Power and Light Director of Power Generation and Delivery, Bharat Harjohn, said the existing transmission lines are essential to maintaining the interconnected Demerara-Berbice system while the replacement infrastructure is being completed.
“It is important that we maintain this link until we complete that new line because if we don’t maintain this link then we will have a disconnect between our Berbice and Demerara system.”
The ongoing investment also includes construction of a new 230kV transmission line, which will significantly increase Guyana’s transmission capacity and support the country’s expanding electricity demand.
Minister Indar also noted that substations and other supporting infrastructure are being developed simultaneously, with long-lead equipment, including transformers, already arriving or being shipped to Guyana.
The upgraded transmission network are efforts by the government to modernise the national electricity system while supporting major infrastructure development, including the expansion of the East Coast corridor into a four-lane highway.
Additional resources are being deployed to fast-track construction of the replacement line, with the objective of having it ready by the end of November, after which power can be diverted to the new route and the existing poles removed from the highway corridor.
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