Kwakwani to get 24hrs electricity

-With Commissioning of 900 kilowatts generator

  Residents of the Upper- Berbice community of Kwakwani, now have access 24 hours of uninterrupted supply of electricity, as the Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, commissioned  a 900 kilowatts Cummings Generator on Friday. The spanking new generator will simultaneously function with two 600 kilowatts Doosan generators.

   The community had transitioned from 16 hours of electricity, to a stable 22 hours of electricity under new management at the end of 2019. With this new generator, the Kwakwani Utilities Incorporated (KUI), is now equipped to provide 24 hours of electricity to the residents of Kwakwani.

   Hon. Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips at the commissioning ceremony  said, “the community now has over two megawatts of electricity. For a community that has just over 4000 residents, this is something big for Guyana, I am not aware of any other such small community with that large amount of power, Kwakwani is blessed, ” Hon. Phillips remarked.

   The Prime Minister urged residents to utilize the electricity wisely since there is enough power, not only to use in households but to industrialized Kwakwani. “While the Government seeks to negotiate with RUSAL and other investors, I’d like to hereby urge you to utilize the now adequate and reliable electricity to start your own small business, ” Phillips urged.

He further assured,  “Kwakwani will be a brighter spot on the map at night, this is just a start of our promises being delivered, we will continue to deliver, we will continue to work with the Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC), Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and we will continue to deliver a better quality of life to all the people of Guyana.”

KUI is managed by the Office of the Prime Minister’s Hinterland Electrification Company Incorporated (HECI) which is the holding company of seven hinterland utilities of which. KUI also supplies water and is responsible for sanitization.

Residents of Kwakwani never paid for electricity and CEO of HECI, Horace Williams, said there is no current discussion on residents paying for electricity in the future; however, Manager of KUI, Leslie Sobers Jr., encouraged residents to not get comfortable with the way things were but with the way things are going. “The community is growing and the demands for electricity are growing. Use energy-saving bulbs and unplug all appliances when not in use,” Sobers implored, as more fuel is needed to supply the generator.

   The residents of Kwakwani are overjoyed and have expressed their gratitude to the Government.

    “I am happy the community can now benefit from 24 hours of electricity, we thought this would have never happened, we awaited this a very long time, we as a community are hereby thankful to the Government of Guyana, ” Edgar Mendonca stated.

    “I feel great, this is something we haven’t experience in a long time, as a proprietor, I can now improve my quality of service to customers, ” Gavin August, owner of ‘Rock-Away’ hotel stated.

Those present at the event included, Regional Chairman, Deron Adams;  Member of Parliament, Devin Sears; Chairwoman of Kwakwani Neighborhood Democratic Council ,Mrs. Elsie McPherson and Managing Director of Farm Supplies – Ranger Van Dijk.