Almost one full week of public silence on the future of Guyana’s powership electricity supply came to an end on Thursday 4 June 2026, after the country’s parliamentary opposition tabled an urgent oral question without notice to press for answers on the critical energy deal.
Public Utilities and Aviation Minister Deodat Indar broke the informational drought in a public statement posted to Facebook, addressing growing public and political commentary around the renewal of the contract for two Turkish-owned Karpowerships that currently supply a large share of the country’s electricity.
Indar emphasized that negotiations are actively ongoing, with the government focused exclusively on securing the lowest possible commercial rate for the continued supply of power, framing the work as aligned with the best interests of all Guyanese citizens. “I would like to assure the public that the Government of Guyana is working in the best interests of the people of Guyana to get the best possible commercial rate for the renewal of the contract,” Indar said in the statement.
Prior to Thursday’s public update, all senior government officials—including President Irfaan Ali, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Finance Minister Ashni Singh, and Indar himself—had declined repeated requests for comment on the status of the talks. This silence came even after Karpowership issued a formal warning that power supplies could be interrupted after the end of a grace period on 1 June, when the previous contract expired.
While Indar moved to reassure Guyanese that the national grid has not experienced any power disruptions to date, he confirmed that no additional details will be released publicly until negotiations conclude between state-owned utility Guyana Power and Light Inc., UCC JV, and Karpowership. “We continue to be in the negotiation process, while the powership maintains an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the national grid. The public will be apprised at the appropriate time on the completion of the contractual negotiations,” he added.
The government’s statement came just two hours after A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), the country’s main parliamentary opposition, submitted its urgent question to National Assembly Speaker Manzoor Nadir. APNU parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul, who filed the question around 11:15 AM Thursday, is seeking answers to a series of pressing public concerns: whether Karpowership has demanded additional payments outside the terms of the original contract, the total amount of any such demands and their legal or commercial basis, and whether the government has conducted a formal assessment of grid risks if one or both powerships suspend operations before the long-delayed Wales Gas-to-Energy Project comes online. Mahipaul also pushed for clarity on contingency plans to prevent a return to widespread blackouts and rolling load shedding that would harm households and businesses across the country.
Currently, the two Karpowerships are anchored off Guyana’s coast: one at Meadowbank in Greater Georgetown on the Demerara River, and the second at Everton on the Berbice River. The status of their contract has emerged as a critical flashpoint amid ongoing delays to the 300 megawatt Wales Gas-to-Energy Project, which has already missed multiple publicly announced completion targets. Without power supplied by the two powerships, Guyana Power and Light does not have enough domestic generation capacity to meet the country’s peak demand of just over 200 megawatts, leaving the national grid heavily dependent on the Turkish firm’s output.