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Energía para el Futuro

Forging a Modern Grid for the Future  – Reflections from Guyana

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As the new IDB Country Strategy for Guyana (2023-2026) puts it – “Guyana is now a booming oil economy with an estimated 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels of recoverable petroleum resources”.

Simultaneously, the Government is starting with an ambitious energy diversification programme as part of its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) that will deliver new generation energy from natural gas, wind, hydro and solar to be added to the electric grid.

Having these two sides of the energy sector advance alongside each other seems to be the task at hand, while reconciling these varied energy sources with the investment and capacity to interconnect, transmit and distribute electricity.

Whilst awareness of having clean energy is growing, customers want to see the lights go on when they flick on the switch irrespective of the nitty gritty of energy delivery. The solution lies in the nuts and bolts of energy management – the engineering, digitization and regulation of frequency and voltage is where the rubber hits the road.  The Energy Transition can happen if there are investments in transmission and distribution.  

Keeping the lights on is critical to economic development. Reliable electricity is critical for households, entrepreneurial activity, government services, hospitals and schools, as well as attracting and maintaining private investment. 

Electricity must be supplied without fluctuations in voltage, always available and capable of supporting different appliances used by customers that need to make investments in their businesses or households.

For that to happen a modern and flexible grid that can accommodate the variability  of renewables as well as the fluctuations in demand and supply is needed. Operationally, this requires a holistic approach to attend to infrastructure upgrades and to support the management of the utility itself – administration support, system planning and design and training in updates to information technology.

Not to be forgotten are resilience measures to ensure infrastructure withstands intense weather conditions. A costly affair to be sure as the Guyana Power and Light Development and Expansion Programme (2023-2027) can attest.

Over the past two decades, the IDB has been actively supporting, in a timely and meaningful way, Guyana’s efforts to transform the energy sector. Whilst our support is key, it is only a preliminary start for the resources and support needed to modernize the electric grid.

In 2014, the IDB in partnership with the European Union supported the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) with an 8-year operation US$64mill (2014-2022) known as the Power Utility Upgrade Program – PUUP – that implemented a holistic infrastructure upgrade program to tackle electricity losses in the distribution network.

The project upgraded 629 km of distribution network and installed 41,058 smart meters across more than 150 communities connected to the GPL’s Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS), which directly contributed to the reduction of electricity losses by 4.9 percent. Critical to the success of the program was the implementation of a Social Management Program (SMP) in tandem with the rehabilitation works, which created the needed awareness and sensitization of the Program among customers, while also communicating the risks of illegal connections and electricity theft.

The use of IT and digital tools was key to achieve the reduction in losses and changes in service delivery reported by Guyana after the Power Utility Upgrade Program. One key step Guyana took was the creation of new teams within the electricity company, thus creating new capacity that strengthened the power utility. More needs to be done to continue this trend.

Another important action was establishing the terms of reference for a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system that gave serious consideration to the integration of renewable energy and automatic generation control. Strengthening digital systems is another area that will continue to require support to enable a smoother integration of differentiated energy sources. 

This holistic approach received further impetus with the modification of “Strengthening Energy Matrix Diversification” (No. 4676/BL-GY). The operation supports solar photovoltaic farms in the Hinterland and in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and GPL the focus was kept on reliability of electricity supply as we know that there can be no Energy Transition without complementary investments in transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure. The operation will also replace and upgrade two existing 12 km transmission lines L1 and L3 (Garden of Eden to Golden Grov) – providing new 69 kV circuits. Resilience will be strengthened with 75 feet steel poles and concrete foundations designed to withstand harsh weather conditions. Additionally, capacitor banks will be installed to reinforce 4 power substations that will store and smooth out the flow of energy along the transmission corridors.

Since those lines transmit the bulk of power on the central grid to the majority of the utility’s customers, it is expected to limit disruptions and line trips that cascades into a complete shutdown. Most of the customers served by these funded transmission corridors, can expect to see a 30% reduction in annual outages, a reduction by half in the energy not served due to system failures and improvement in electrical surges that damage costly equipment and appliances.

Continuous learning and its application to holistic energy management is critical. Technology is at hand to support these efforts, and to advance collaboration with GPL, Guyana Energy Agency and Hinterland Electrification Company and other key stakeholders to expedite the Energy Transition in Guyana.

As Guyana transitions to a cleaner, more accessible, and reliable energy sector, these interventions are important and timely, and given the substantial investments highlighted in the D&E  – it’s a good start!

Interested in learning more? Here are related documents:


Malaika Masson

Malaika Masson is a Lead Energy Specialist in the Energy Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) currently managing the IDB energy portfolio for Guyana. Since joining the Bank in 2009, she has been involved in the development and oversight of projects related to solar PV generation, rehabilitation of transmission and distribution and electric mobility across the Caribbean. She has worked on resilient energy infrastructure, micro-grids in remote areas, training programs for women in solar installation, extractive industry governance and regional dialogue on renewable energy. Malaika holds a PhD in 2003 in Management Studies from Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University. Prior to joining the IDB, Malaika worked on public private partnerships and policy within the UK Government, Chatham House, and Shell Group and served on public boards.

Jaime Sologuren Blanco

Jaime Sologuren is an energy sector specialist with more than 15 years of experience in the field of Energy in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. During this time of professional work, especially in energy access and renewable energy, he planned, built, implemented, and coordinated projects in the field of energy in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia, Rwanda, and Nepal. He is currently the leader of the IDB energy team in Guatemala and Belize. Jaime has coordinated energy access projects, as well as provided advice on the diversification of electricity generation matrices and energy policy, with the introduction of Renewable Energies in various countries where he worked. He has a track record of building capacities, developing Monitoring and Evaluation systems, coordinating, and establishing alliances with different actors (public and private), as well as coordinating with a range of projects financed by international donors. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Bolivia and a Master’s degree in Environmental and Energy Management (Energy specialization) from the University of Twente, The Netherlands.

Lerone Williams

Lerone Williams is an energy consultant providing technical support for the supervision of projects in the Guyana energy sector which encompass the areas of power sector development, deployment of renewable energy technologies, and improved energy access in hinterland communities. Before joining the Bank, he was Engineer and Program Manager at the Ministry of Public Works in Guyana, responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of electrical and mechanical building systems within the public sector. During his time at the Ministry, he was also integrally involved in the inspection, and certification of residential, commercial, and industrial installations across the country. As an energy and power systems consultant in the private sector Lerone is also experienced in conducting commercial grade energy audits and designing electrical and solar PV installations. He has also worked with the UNDP office in Guyana supporting the Energy, Environment and Extractive Industries Program. Lerone is an Electrical Engineer, from the University of Camagüey in Cuba, and holds a Master of Business Administration, with specializations in Energy, Innovation and Finance from the University of the West Indies, Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business. He is also a Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute.

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