Line trip cuts power across GPL's service area
Work on a new 69 kV transmission line should finish before December begins.
Guyana Times reported on 31 October 2026 that the L2 Transmission Line tripped at about 08:12h. That means the line went offline. The paper said the trip caused a big loss of supply to the national grid. It also caused widespread outages across the service area of Guyana Power and Light (GPL).
The L2 line runs parallel to the L4 line on the stretch linking the Grove substation with the Sophia substation. Guyana Power and Light Inc. states in its 2024-2028 Development and Expansion Programme that the Sophia substation supplies central and greater Georgetown and the East Coast Demerara.
Other outages around Sophia were reported earlier in October. Kaieteur News reported on 17 October 2026 that accidental contact with a live GPL wire made the Sophia F3 feeder trip. Power was cut for about one hour in Lamaha Gardens and in Section K, Campbellville. The paper also reported that GPL's Sophia F6 feeder was off for about 30 minutes. The outage affected Areas A to E in Field Sophia.
Stabroek News reported that some of these lines tripped in 2021. In October 2021, the L2 and L4 lines between the Golden Grove and Sophia substations tripped. Two other lines tripped too. That caused a total shutdown of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS). The cause was later traced partly to faulty current transformers at Sophia.
Stabroek News also reported that trips on the L1 and L4 lines in December 2021 caused another DBIS shutdown. About 40 MW was lost.
Demand for power is rising fast. President Irfaan Ali said GPL and the Ministry of Public Utilities are looking at more sources of electricity. In September, Ali announced plans for significant investment in how GPL generates, transmits and distributes electricity.
GPL said that, for a new 69 kV transmission line along the East Coast Demerara corridor, the monopole structures are about 85 per cent in place. The transmission project includes five new substations and upgrades to several others.
The same Guyana Power and Light Inc. programme also plans an upgrade to the Old Sophia 69/13.8 kV substation and a new Sophia switching substation. Completion of the new 69 kV transmission line is due by the close of November.
The story was first reported by Kaieteur News.