Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) has issued a press release detailing two service interruptions experienced by customers in Demerara and Berbice on September 18, 2024. The outages occurred at approximately 09:15 hrs and 14:08 hrs and were caused by a trip on the L17 Transmission Line, which connects the Colombia and Good Hope Substations.
The L17 Transmission Line was transferring about 28 MWs and 33 MWs of power within the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) when the interruptions happened. The sudden loss of generation led to a cascading effect on the grid, causing multiple generators to shut down.
Inspections of the transmission line found no visible faults. However, it was noted that pile driving and road work activities by a contractor near Hope and Unity could have caused vibrations affecting the L17 Line.
Restoration efforts were promptly initiated, with power fully restored to all affected areas by approximately 10:56 hrs and 16:50 hrs.
GPL acknowledges the inconvenience caused by these interruptions and is committed to improving system reliability to prevent future occurrences.
