Sep 9, 2026
2 min read
Electricity theft is contributing significantly to commercial losses at Guyana Power and Light (GPL), with non-technical losses accounting for a substantial share of losses on the national grid, the company says.
GPL Head of Engineering and Projects Ryan Ross estimated that one per cent of losses is worth approximately $200 million, attributing much of this to illegal connections and the diversion of electricity, though the company does not yet have precise measurements of how much power is being stolen through individual connections.
"There are two components...technical and commercial. Technical is line losses emanating from transformers, lines and so on. Those you can do something about but it's a very costly exercise. But the non-technical losses or commercial losses, the diversion and theft of electricity is a significant issue. They all come together to form about 13 to 15 per cent of the losses on our grid...it's an excess of over $200 million for one per cent," he said.
GPL Head of the Executive Management Committee Kesh Nandlall said the company has been conducting raid operations to identify and remove illegal connections in several communities.
"There are a number of areas that we have been working on with illegal connections that we continue to do what we call raids on them and remove them from the system," Nandlall said.
Beyond the financial toll, he said illegal connections can also affect the reliability and quality of electricity supplied to legitimate customers, and remain difficult to quantify since the company cannot directly measure consumption through many of them — though the impact still shows up in its overall losses.
"It contributes to our commercial losses," Nandlall said, adding that the number of illegal connections identified and removed runs into the thousands.
The company is also working with the police to prosecute persons involved in electricity theft.
