Linden gets backup generator for water supply during blackouts

Linden now has a 750-kVA (kilovolt-amperes) back-up generator to guarantee water supply during power outages, the ministry of public utilities said Tuesday night.

The ministry said the backup generator replaced the existing generator at the West Watooka Water Treatment Plant and strengthens the facility’s capability to maintain operations during electricity disruptions.

The government said the decision followed Tuesday’s engagement with regional officials and electricity service providers in Linden.

Public utilities minister Deodat Indar reportedly instructed his director-general Alfonso De Armas to oversee arrangements for the deployment of the standby generator.

The Guyana Water Incorporated’s (GWI) executive director of projects, Marlon Daniels, and the director of operations, Jawaharlal Ramjug, were also on the ground overseeing arrangements for the generator replacement and coordinating the necessary technical support, the ministry said.

The director general also coordinated with the ministry’s agency, GWI, to advance Mr Indar’s directive to ensure that all water treatment plants across Linden be equipped with backup power systems, strengthening their resilience and reducing the impact of electricity interruptions on water production and distribution, the ministry added.

The public utilities ministry also said the engagement was attended by the Region 10 regional executive officer (REO), Dr Gregory Harris, along with management and technical teams from the Linden Electricity Company Incorporated (LECI), which serves Mackenzie, and the Linden Utility Services Co-operative Society Limited (LUSCSL), which serves Wismar.

“The Ministry’s priority remained clear — to safeguard essential water services for Linden residents through coordinated interventions, while the respective electricity service providers addressed the ongoing power supply challenges.”

The replacement generator was delivered one day after Lindeners protested the frequent and prolonged blackouts that also disrupt potable water supply.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian Sharma Solomon called for a long-term solution to the electricity crisis.

He said it was time the government invest in a 100-megawatt generation system and upgrade the aged transmission and distribution system.

He said that capacity would cater for housing, infrastructural and commercial activities.