Government said that the dry spell being experienced at Amaila Falls was predicted in a hydrology report released in August, while maintaining that the project will allow an annual net savings of approximately US$100 million.
The government was responding to a series of Kaieteur News reports. Recently, the newspaper published an aerial photograph showing a limited flow of water streaming from the Amaila Falls, the water source for the proposed Amaila Falls Hydro Power station.
However, government said in August 2013, it issued a press release and a 70-page expert hydrology report prepared by Halcrow, a UK-based internationally-recognised engineering consultancy group. The public is invited to refer to the report located at www.privatisation.gov.gy.
“That report clearly indicates that October is, in fact, one of the driest months of the year and as such, water flow will be limited. It also clearly indicated that the reservoir to be built as part of this project will be used to store water and protect against dry periods such as the one currently being experienced. The reservoir will enable the station to provide a continued source of power,” the government said.
According to government, the estimated energy that will be supplied has been based on various expert firms, which used multiple sources for their analysis, including 40 years of flow data, and conclusively demonstrated that the project is entirely feasible and practical.
“The study clearly shows that the operation of a reservoir allows the supply of energy to be managed to effectively minimise the impact of the dry season water flows.”
Meanwhile, government said regardless of the impact of the dry season water flows, based on the hydrology report, the projected costs of the project and GPL’s generation costs, Amaila will allow an annual net savings of approximately US$100 million.
“At the end of the 20-year concession period, Guyana will own Amaila, a project that can last 75 to 100 years, free. Additionally, Amaila will allow Guyana to eliminate approximately 90 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.
“Kaieteur News deliberately ignored any reference to the August press release and Halcrow report that were covered in various papers, including their own. One can only conclude that the objective of Kaieteur News is to avoid presenting information in a fair, objective and balanced manner and prefer instead, to distort and misrepresent for their personal objectives,” the government said.
