On Wednesday, government officials from Guyana announced a finalized two-year contractual agreement with Turkey-based floating power provider Karpowership, updating the terms for the company’s electricity-generating vessel permanently stationed at the Everton East Bank Berbice terminal. The vessel first arrived at this site in May 2024 under an initial interim arrangement.
Under the new terms, the 36-megawatt floating facility will supply power to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) national grid at a rate of 9.5 US cents per kilowatt-hour. This marks an upward adjustment from the 7.2 US cents per kilowatt-hour rate set when the initial interim agreement was signed in 2024. The updated tariff brings the Berbice vessel in line with pricing for Karpowership’s second floating power plant located at Meadowbank, Greater Georgetown, which has operated at the 9.5 US cent rate since it was first connected to Guyana’s national grid.
Public Utilities Minister Deodat Indar clarified that the published tariff does not include fuel costs, as the Guyanese government exempts power generation fuel from all taxation to keep overall energy costs stable. Indar emphasized that retaining the 36 MW of generation capacity from the Berbice vessel is a critical buffer for the national grid, as it offsets unavoidable transmission line losses that would otherwise strain power supply for residential and commercial users across the region.
The new long-term arrangement comes as Guyana prepares to bring its large-scale 300 MW natural gas-fired Wales power station online, a project designed to meet rapidly growing energy demand driven by the country’s expanding oil and gas sector. The facility is on track to deliver an initial 222 MW of power to the national grid from four operational gas turbines by the end of 2026, with the remaining 72 MW of capacity coming online in early 2027.
Speaking to reporters earlier the same day, Guyana President Irfaan Ali confirmed that negotiation teams reached a deal that aligned the Berbice vessel’s pricing with the existing terms for the second Karpowership facility. “The negotiations were completed at the same rate,” Ali said. “The rate of the second ship that is being used, nothing above that rate.”