How will GtE plant slash tariffs by 50%? — Emile Mervin — Opinion

How will GtE plant slash tariffs by 50%?

September 13, 2026·3 min read

Published in

Kiskadee Watch ·Sep 13, 2026

Dear Editor,

For the sake of long-suffering Guyanese who have somehow managed to adjust to electricity supply problems since the mid-to-late seventies, one can only hope this US$2b Gas-to-Energy investment finally delivers on reliable and affordable electricity supply.

While there is said to be ‘no official, consolidated figure tracking the exact or ballpark amount spent on GPL since 1992’, conservative estimates, based on annual Budget allocations and emergency subventions, run into the billions of dollars.

As I blogged a couple of days ago, the contractual arrangement with Karpowership’s two vessels supplying electricity to GPL’s grid has already cost the government US$426m since April 2024. And while the contract was renewed in July for two more years for the vessel docked in Berbice, Guyanese are wondering if the two-year contract for the vessel docked at Meadowbank will be renewed in December given that the 300MW Gas-to-Energy power generation system should be fully up and running in early 2027.

We must remember, the whole idea behind the GtE project was about affordable and reliable electricity supply, and that purpose would be defeated for both Karpowership vessels to be retained beyond early 2027.

A secondary point is related to the agreement made in January 2025 for Siemens to become the manager and operator of Phase One of the GtE project. According to Stabroek News of January 25, 2025, that agreement covers a five-year operations period – with renewal options – and a 20-year turbine maintenance programme.^[1] In effect, Siemens will likely be operating and managing the GtE project for a very long time, unless that O&M phase is transferred to GPL within a decade.

What I have not detected in the SN article of January 2025 or the article above is how the GtE plant will help slash electricity generation and consumption costs by 50%. If Siemens is the owner and manager, who exactly will be setting the final product price for Guyanese electricity consumers, or what will happen after Siemens’ 20-year run in Guyana comes to an end?

Under the sidelined Amaila Falls Hydro Project, there was a Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) clause in the 2012 agreement for Chinese company, China Railway First Group, to build, own and operate the power generation facility, recoup their investments (including generation and supply costs), and then transfer ownership and management to GPL. After the project’s rising costs caused a failure to launch in the Opposition-controlled National Assembly in July 2013, the PPP government made a second try in November 2021 with a Cabinet no-objection approval for Office of the Prime Minister to engage China Railway Group.

On November 2, 2021, Stabroek News reported, “China Railway deemed ‘most capable’ partner for Amalia Falls project,”^[2] while Kaieteur News later had this related news caption, “Chinese contractors dominate bids for Amalia Falls Hydro,” (May 9, 2026).^[3] Then on August 3, last, Guyana Office of Investment announced government was in the process of assembling a technical evaluation team to review proposals from international firms for the Amaila Falls Hydro Electricity Project.^[4]

Throughout that ever evolving Amaila process since 2012, the goal always was to slash the electricity bill by 40%, but it became harder to believe when the original estimated project cost here ballooned from US$450m to over US$900m before a brick was laid. In the GtE case, the estimated project cost ballooned from US$478m to around U$2b and the project is not even completed. So, how can electricity costs be slashed in either scenarios when we are starting out with a construction bill that can easily rise four times the original estimated cost? Someone, somewhere has to pay for all cost overruns.

Fellow Guyanese, even if the PPP government meant well in both the Amaila Hydro project and this Gas-to-Energy project, it has to realize its checkered track record on ballooning project costs and poor quality workmanship do not allow it to keep blandly overpromising and brazenly underdelivering when it comes to cost benefits that should favour Guyanese. If anything, contractors and their government associates actually are the ones who come out of these deals smiling all the way to the bank.

Good luck to Guyanese with the Gas-to-Energy project because, one way or other, Guyanese will pay. As always.

Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin

References

Siemens to run 300 MW plant — www.stabroeknews.com ↩
China Railway deemed 'most capable' partner for Amaila ... — www.stabroeknews.com ↩
Chinese contractors dominate bids for Amaila Falls Hydro Project - Kaieteur News — kaieteurnewsonline.com ↩
Evaluation team being set up to review bids for Amaila Falls Hydro Project - Guyana Times — guyanatimesgy.com ↩

Siemens to run 300 MW plant

www.stabroeknews.com · 2025-01-25

Siemens to run 300 MW plant - Stabroek News ... German firm Siemens Energy SAS will run the government’s ambitious 300 MW combined cycle power plant and requests for proposals are being sought for the operations and management of the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility which will provide the fuel. ... Siemens had been announced last year as one of the bidders for the operation and management of the plant. Its win of the bid was noted in an advertisement in yesterday’s Stabroek News seeking proposals for the NGL plant. ... With an over US$2b price tag and counting the gas-to-energy (GtE) project is a high stakes one for the government and the selection of Siemens would be seen as a measure of comfort for those with concerns about the management of this project. ... The Office of the Prime Minister Request for Proposal (RFP) invites qualified firms to provide their proposals for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) of the GtE Phase 1 NGL plant. The advertisement stated that the proposal is not for the operations and maintenance of the 300MW combined cycle power plant and auxiliary services which will be managed overall by Siemens Energy. ... Among the requirements potential responders are expected to include are O&M of three plants similar to the NGL plant project under construction in Guyana, strong HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) culture with demonstrative capabilities in workforce training, particularly focusing on local content, use of advanced technology for efficient operations and safety monitoring, and financial capacity to manage large scale operations. Only firms or consortia experienced in Operations and Maintenance of comparable facilities will be ranked, the advertisement says, and these must be listed with the relevant criteria, as mentioned above, for the last fifteen years. ... The advertisement asked that responding firms provide audited financial statements or other evidence of financial strength, a template of a contract from an ongoing or similar O&M project, and, submit the fee structure from comparable projects including costs for the NGL plant and storage facilities. These are to be accompanied by the appropriate contracts in 5, 10, 15 and or 20 block years as well as a template of O&M project costs over each period in dollar value and on a unit cost per gallon. ... The responding firms shall be expected to submit their profit margins or fees; submit a project guarantee related to availability and efficiency; submit a Division of Responsibility (DoR) showing the responsibility and costs borne by the NGL O&M Operator, Siemens Energy who will have overall operational and management of the GtE plant and auxiliary facilities. The responding firms are expected to list major vendors, contractors/sub-contractors, and mobilise teams. An organizational chart reflecting a separation of local and foreign staff is expected to be provided including ramping up of staff, with responding firms advised of a possible start up in mid-2025. ... The advertisement states that the Government of Guyana may convene discussions during the RFP period for registered parties to gain additional clarification on any key terms or proposals. These, the advertisement says, should be submitted by email ‘as early as possible’ to allow for sufficient time for these to be addressed within the RFP period. Negotiations, the advertisements says, will take place with the highest ranked technical proposal with the objective of concluding an O&M contract. The ad further goes on to state that all costs associated with all proposals will be borne by the interested companies. A registration fee of $25,000 Guyana Dollars is required. An email address [email protected] and the physical address of the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister was listed.

Chinese contractors dominate bids for Amalia Falls Hydro

Kaieteur News · May 9, 2026

China Railway deemed 'most capable' partner for Amaila ...

www.stabroeknews.com · 2021-11-02

China Railway deemed ‘most capable’ partner for Amaila Falls hydropower project - Stabroek News ... With China Railway Group Limited found to be the “most capable partner” for the development of the Amaila Falls Hydro Project (AFHP), Cabinet has given its no-objection to the Office of the Prime Minister to engage the Chinese company on the venture, which is expected to see Guyanese accessing cheaper electricity. ... The Ministry of Finance last night announced that the Prime Minister’s Office would engage the firm to construct the project under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model, where the company will supply electricity to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc at a cost not exceeding US$0.07737 per kWh. ... With this model, Guyana will not be investing any finances into the project as the company, which the ministry said was identified by the evaluation committee as the “most capable partner,” will provide the entire equity required and undertake all the risks associated with the project, the ministry said. ... Four companies – three Chinese and one Brazilian – responded to government’s Request for Pro-posals (RFPs) for the resuscitation of the AFHP, which is expected to begin construction by the middle of next year. ... In September 2012, the then PPP/C government led by former President Donald Ramotar signed agreement for the construction of the project with Sithe Global and China Railway First Group.

Chinese contractors dominate bids for Amaila Falls Hydro Project - Kaieteur News

kaieteurnewsonline.com · 2026-05-09

Chinese contractors dominate bids for Amaila Falls Hydro Project - Kaieteur News ... ## Chinese contractors dominate bids for Amaila Falls Hydro Project May 09, 2026 News ... (Kaieteur News) – The Government of Guyana has received five bids from international contractors for the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, three of which are Chinese companies. ... Kaieteur News understands that some companies bid either via consortium or joint venture. Out of the five bids, three are from China, while the other two are headquartered in the United States of America and India. ... According to information released on NPTAB website the five bidders are Afcon Infrastructure Limited (of India) in joint venture with Scandian Infrastructure AB (of Sweden); CAMCE-CMEC Consortium (of China) who bid US$668,000,000; China Gezhouba Group Company Limited-HYI (of China) who bid US$432,338,377; OEC USA in joint venture with GE Vernova (of USA), and Worley (of Australia) who bid US$800,060,842; and Sinohydro Corporation Limited (of China) who bid US$416,866,949.21. ... In 2021, negotiations hit a stalemate after Cabinet granted a no-objection for the Prime Minister’s office to engage the China Railway Group Limited for construction. Discussions faltered as the company sought to alter the project’s model due to financing challenges for a BOOT model, requesting a shift to an EPC model. The government was reluctant to switch to the EPC option, resulting in the talks with the Chinese contractor coming to an end. ... The government later issued a revised RFP under the BOOT model for the Amaila Falls project and four local and international firms submitted proposals for the Amaila Falls project that was scheduled to begin in 2027. However, this too was stalled. ... Early in 2025, the government announced that it would once again go to tender for

Evaluation team being set up to review bids for Amaila Falls Hydro Project - Guyana Times

guyanatimesgy.com · 2026-08-03

#### Months after several international companies submitted their proposals to develop the 165-megawatts (MW) Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP), the Guyana Government is now in the process of putting together the technical team to review the bids received. “Amaila Falls Project is awaiting evaluation right now. We’re putting together the evaluation team,” a senior Government official recently told the Guyana Times. Some five foreign companies are in the race for the AFHP after responding to the Government’s call for proposals, which closed in May. A joint venture (JV) between United States (US)-based OEC USA, GE Vernova, and Australia’s Worley submitted the highest bid of US$800,060,842, according to tender documents seen by this newspaper. The OEC, GE Vernova, and Worley grouping had previously tendered to be pre-qualified for this project in 2023 before the Government eventually decided to reissue the Request for Proposal (RFP) last year. Coming in second with a US$668,000,000 proposal was a consortium of CAMCE-CMEC from China. China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. (CAMCE) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) have individually undertaken construction projects in Guyana’s public sector and have also bid for major gas-related projects here. ... a bid to the tune of US$432,338,377 – the third highest proposal. In addition, Chinese state-owned, Sinohydro Corporation Limited, came in fourth with a US$416,866,949.21 proposal. The fifth company that bid for the project was a JV comprising India-based Afcon Infrastructure Limited and Scandian Infrastructure AB from Sweden. However, no figure was listed for this JV in the tender document seen this newspaper. Back in October 2025, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), which has responsibility for the energy sector, published the RFP invite for the Amaila Falls Hydro project under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model. According to the RFP document, the project is expected to deliver a minimum installed capacity of 165-MW ... last 10 years will be considered. The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been keen on reviving the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which has been on the cards since 2011 but was blocked by the A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition both in and out of office. The 165-MW project was the flagship initiative of the Bharrat Jagdeo-crafted Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). However, the project failed to take off despite having a developer in US-based Sithe Global, which was backed by investment major – The Blackstone Inc. In August 2013, Sithe Global announced that it was pulling out of the project, which it said was too large to continue without national consensus, citing the lack of consensus in Guyana’s Parliament. At the time, the then-A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) opposition parties, holding a majority of seats in the National Assembly, had both voted down key pieces of legislation, which consequently halted the project. Then during its term in office from 2015 to 2020, the APNU+AFC Coalition regime, again, shelved the project. The revival of the 165-MW hydropower project was one of the promises made by the ruling PPP/C in its 2020 Elections Manifesto, and again in the 2025 Manifesto. In November 2021, the AFHP was awarded to China Railway First Group (CRFG) but negotiations fell through after the company wanted to change the BOOT model which Government rejected. A revised RFP was then issued in 2023 and four companies – Rialma S.A. (Grupo Rialma) from Brazil; China International Water & Elec. Corp; Lindsayca CH4 Guyana Inc., and a group made up of OEC, GE Vernova and Worley – had submitted tenders to be pre-qualified for the Amaila Falls Hydropower project. Those bids were under evaluation for several months before the Government decided to eventually retender the project with new technical requirements last year.