More than 88% of rural Guyana has access to electricity

GPL’s CEO Albert Gordon (white jersey) and Director Operations Bharat Harjohn meet with workers in the field at Plastic City in June of this year where electricity needs were addressed

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reported that more than 88% of Guyana’s rural population has access to electricity. The disclosure was made in the UNDP’s 2019 Human Development Index report which was released in Bagota, Colombia on Monday. 

The Index is a way of highlighting the prevalence of socio-economic inequality around the world, and the shortcomings of key sectors which are responsible for human development. According to the report, the 88.8% represents people living in rural areas with access to electricity, expressed as a percentage of the total rural population.

GPL’s Linesmen on a pole in Canal No.1 earlier this years where line maintenance and upgrades were being conducted.

“It includes electricity sold commercially – both on grid and off grid – and self-generated electricity but excludes unauthorized connections” the report added. Known more popularly as ‘countryside,’ a rural area is a geographic are outside densely populated urban areas in a town or city. 

It was only a few weeks ago that the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) announced that it is receiving assistance from the Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC) to address ongoing power generation problems. 

The company has since committed to ensuring that it works towards achieving a more reliable and consistent supply of electricity despite challenges. Guyana has for years been discussing the possibility of switching to renewable energy sources. However, plans to set up a hydropower plant were halted in 2015 after the government changed. 

Despite this, the report highlighted that the final estimation of energy consumption reveals that the 25.3% of that energy used is renewable. Additionally, it was noted that 37.3% of Guyana’s 744,000 population are internet users. The report describes internet users as “persons with access to the worldwide network”. 

Further, it was revealed that for every 100 citizen, 83 are mobile phone subscribers. The UNDP shares that the Index is a way of highlighting the prevalence of socio-economic inequality around the world, and the shortcomings of key sectors which are responsible for human development.