Guyana - Well Positioned for Future Growth and Success - 12

Electrification
But the Guyanese government is making its own ICT investments,
too. It is nearing completion of a 560-kilometer fiber-optic cable that
will link the country to Brazil. This forms part of the government's
larger Information Communication Strategy, which is intended
to improve the social and economic welfare of all Guyanese,
specifically by delivering e-government services. To achieve this
goal, the government is installing 54 cellular towers to support 4G
LTE data transfer.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, most electrical power is
generated by burning fossil fuels. Three of the largest countries -
Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico - have a modest amount of nuclear
power, but for a small country like Guyana that is not an option.

For Guyana, one of the biggest
opportunities lies in hydroelectric

POWER

Guyana: Well Positioned for Future Growth and Success

The country sits next to Venezuela, with the world's largest
proven oil reserves, and yet has none itself. Despite this, Guyana
has managed to hold the price of electricity to affordable levels,
keeping the cost of doing business in the country relatively
low. In fact, based on a report from CARILEC, the Caribbean
Electric Utility Services Corporation, the domestic price of
electricity in Guyana is the fourth lowest in the Caribbean.
For Guyana, one of the biggest opportunities lies in hydroelectric power. There is the possibility of developing a hydro
project at Amaila Falls, on the Kuribrong River in west central
Guyana. The project is ambitious, requiring complex debtfinancing agreements and political consensus. Should it move
forward, it is estimated that the new hydroelectric plant would
improve the reliability of the energy supply in Guyana by
providing an additional 165 Megawatts of renewable energy,
while also reducing the current cost of electricity by between
20% and 40%, saving residential and commercial consumers
US$3.5 billion over 20 years. It is also estimated that the
project would result in a 20% to 25% reduction in imported
fuel requirements while providing more predictable pricing
and giving the government about US$10 million annually in
carbon credits.

Guyana - Well Positioned for Future Growth and Success

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