| By Abena Rockcliffe Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo is accusing Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, of misleading the National Assembly on the cost being incurred by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) to generate electricity per kilowatt hour.At a recent press conference,Omar Infante Tigers Jersey, Jagdeo said that the price quoted by the Minister in his budget presentation is “outrageously wrong.”The Minister,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, in his speech, said, “The Government is negotiating a power purchase agreement with a private developer for a US$50 million wind farm at Hope Beach. This facility is expected to provide an additional 25 megawatts of power to the national grid.Currently, the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) generates power at an average weighted cost of US$0.28 per kilowatt hour.The new project will likely offer GPL energy at less than half that cost,NFL Jerseys Discount, which will translate to lower electricity tariffs to consumers.”Subsequent to that announcement by Minister Jordan,Jerseys From China Online, Jagdeo said that the entire nation must take keen note of what is being done in the electricity sector. According to him, the government has no real plans in this regard but is willing to expense the nation to give work to “a supporter of the government.”Jagdeo claimed that the US$50M project to which Minister Jordan referred in his speech is being developed for the benefit of a friend of the A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government.Jagdeo’s claim is that in order for the government to accommodate this project, it has to mislead the nation on the cost to generate electricity “so people will think this project will make sense.”“He (the Finance Minister) gave an incorrect figure. He said that GPL is generating power at 28 cents per kilowatt hour,Johnny Bench Reds Jersey, that figure is not just wrong but outrageously wrong,” said Jagdeo.He pointed to the fact that “when fuel prices were high in 2012 the figures were 19 to 20 cents per kilowatt hour. We were going to get power for 10 cents per kilowatt/hour from Amaila, half of the then number.”Jagdeo said that the price for fuel has since fallen and therefore the cost to produce electricity should have gone down as well.“I do not believe that it is more than 14 or 15 cents (to generate electricity) now per kilowatt hour yet the Minister said that it is 28 cents. This is, I believe to justify, buying power from this individual which will stick this country with huge cost, beyond what was contemplated through the construction of Amaila,” said Jagdeo.He added, “The misinformation was something so glaring in his presentation and the people of this country need to pay careful attention to it.”When contacted, the only comment given by Minister Jordan on this issue was, “I do not respond to the opposition leader. I said what I said.”Interim Chief Executive Officer of GPL,NFL Jerseys Sale, Colin Welch, advised that the newspaper be guided by previous GPL end of year reports in order to confirm the current cost to generate electricity.Despite the fact that fuel price, which factors mainly in the overall cost to generate electricity, continue to fall, Welch maintained that the generation cost is standard. |
