In response to a Guyana Times Article dated 2020 May 2; titled, “GPL announces power outages for next week”, the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL) wishes to emphatically examine the article’s headline and its content, while also providing clarity for the author of the article, all readers and our valued customers.
From the inception of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, GPL has employed several measures to soften the effects of COVID-19 on our valued customers; which included, but was not limited to the delay of planned network maintenance.
Planned maintenance activities on the network are crucial to prevent service disruptions and to allow for a continuous and reliable supply of electricity to all served areas.
It should be noted that GPL remains challenged with an aged Transmission and Distribution (T&D) network, therefore, such maintenance activities must be conducted in keeping with our annual maintenance plan and cannot be delayed any further.
Additionally, the May/June rainy season is upon us and we wish to inform you that GPL is taking the necessary precautions to reduce the impact of localised faults; hence, network maintenance is of utmost importance for a stable and reliable supply of electricity.
GPL is cognisant of the shifts occurring nationally regarding employees working from home due to the risks associated with COVID-19 Pandemic. With this in mind, the Company has advertised these interruptions across multimedia platforms to alert our customers who will be affected by the service interruptions; and to allow for sufficient time for alternative provisions to be put in place.
Finally, as mentioned earlier, several measures were employed to provide relief to our customers; these are:
- Shift of numerous in-store services to our website www.gplinc.net; some of which are the submission of service applications, consumer claims and queries;
- Additionally, we’ve suspended disconnections until further notice for all postpaid customers, coupled with decentralized payment services thus making purchasing tokens and paying bills widely accessible to customers. These include online, electronically and in-store services (both GPL and Authorised Agents);
- Most recently, electricity consumption was exempted of the fourteen percent (14%) Valued Added Tax (VAT) for a period of three months; and
- Alternative service options, which supplements for Meter Reading and Bill Delivery Suspension were advertised across multimedia platforms as well.
Our Company wishes to reaffirm that, we remain committed to ensuring there is sufficient and available capacity to meet demand, while at the same time improving the quality of supply to all consumers.
