GEORGETOWN, Guyana – August 14, 2026 – Guyanese government officials announced mandatory electricity conservation measures for the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) Friday, responding to unprecedented peak demand driven by a prolonged extreme dry spell linked to the El Niño weather pattern and rapid growth in the country’s customer base.
Addressing reporters alongside Prime Minister Mark Phillips and senior energy industry leaders, Public Utilities Minister Deodat Indar confirmed that the DBIS has already hit an all-time high peak demand of 242.46 megawatts (MW) this summer, a nearly 10% jump from the 220 MW peak recorded in 2025. While the grid currently maintains a reliable generation capacity of 256 MW, officials project peak demand could climb as high as 266 MW through the end of October, putting growing strain on the country’s main power network.
Indar attributed the sharp demand increase to two key factors: persistent unseasonably high temperatures brought by El Niño, which have pushed up cooling use across the country, and a 22% expansion in the grid’s customer base since 2020. From just 204,000 connected customers in 2020, the DBIS now serves more than 250,000 residential, commercial, and industrial users as of mid-August 2026, driven by rapid housing development and growing industrial activity across the Demerara-Berbice region.
To avoid mandatory rolling power rationing, the government has already begun targeted demand reduction measures. All government buildings have been ordered to cut unnecessary energy use, requiring all non-essential lighting and equipment to be switched off at the end of each workday. Large, unused floodlighting installed at sports and public event grounds will also remain disconnected when no events are scheduled to avoid wasted power.
Already, three large commercial and industrial energy users – one on the East Bank of Demerara and two in Berbice – have been asked to temporarily disconnect from the grid during daily peak demand windows. Indar confirmed that two additional large users were taken offline Thursday, a move that immediately restored grid stability. Kesh Nandlall, executive lead for Guyana Power and Light (GPL), the country’s main power utility, noted that ongoing dynamic assessments of grid conditions will determine whether additional large consumers will need to be curtailed in the coming weeks.
Prime Minister Phillips clarified that the country is on track to boost total generation capacity to 280 MW by the end of August, a threshold that will eliminate the need for any form of power rationing once reached. Until that expansion is completed, however, Phillips issued a public appeal for all residents to voluntarily adopt energy conservation habits to reduce strain on the grid.
“The grid is operating at literally the highest load level it has ever recorded in its history,” Phillips told the press conference. “We are asking every member of the public to do their part to support conservation initiatives.”
A minor secondary disruption tied to the demand surge was reported Thursday: water service to a portion of East Berbice was interrupted when the local water pump lost power during demand reduction cuts, but service was fully restored within hours, according to Indar.