Two attackers threw homemade firebombs into the Good Hope substation of Guyana Power and Light on the night of November 10, in an assault that President Dr Irfaan Ali said could have shut down the national grid and cut power to more than 220,000 customers.
Speaking in a national security statement on Thursday, Ali said the attack targeted critical national infrastructure and vowed that every perpetrator, including any masterminds behind the plot, would face the full force of the law.
What happened at the Good Hope substation
CCTV cameras captured two individuals at the GPL Good Hope Distribution Substation, on the East Coast of Demerara, at about 22:45h on November 10. One of them hurled an improvised incendiary device, similar to a Molotov cocktail and known locally as a channa bomb, into the 69kV energised switchyard. Both then fled the scene.
Police recovered four glass bottles containing a liquid suspected to be kerosene, with pieces of cloth attached, near the facility's transmission line. A black lighter, a saw frame and broken bottle glass were also found, according to Guyana Times.
Engineers who inspected the switchyard overnight found no major equipment damage. No line or feeder trips occurred, and the electricity supply was never interrupted. That narrow escape, GPL stressed, was luck rather than design.
How close was Guyana to a nationwide blackout?
GPL, in a statement published on Wednesday, said a successful attack could have triggered a shutdown of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System and caused extensive damage to critical electricity infrastructure, putting employees and residents of nearby communities at risk.
The company estimated that serious damage to the facility could have required at least 12 months of reconstruction, at a cost running into billions of dollars. For a country whose economy depends on continuous power for industry, commerce and households, the arithmetic is sobering. One bottle, thrown a few metres further, and Guyana could have spent a year paying for it.
Guyana Chronicle reported that one suspect is now in custody and three others are being sought as the probe intensifies according to the state newspaper. INews Guyana also reported that police have questioned a suspect and recovered a motorcycle in connection with the attack.
Intelligence pointed to a wider plot
The most disturbing element of the President's statement was not the attack itself but what preceded it. Ali disclosed that security forces had intelligence from an organised meeting held before the incident, which prompted preparations and a proactive deployment.
More concerningly, intelligence suggests that attack on this facility and possible attacks on other locations may have been discussed, as I said, at the prior meeting, Ali said.
He added that, only days before the incident, two politically affiliated individuals were captured in conversation about how to make the incendiary device. The President did not name the individuals or their political affiliation, but the implication is clear: this was not random vandalism. It had the markings of a planned operation discussed among people with political connections.
EIN Presswire reported that Ali described the incident as a serious attack on critical national infrastructure with the potential to disrupt electricity supply and threaten public safety in its coverage of the statement.
What investigators are trying to establish
The Guyana Police Force is leading the investigation, with several questions outstanding. Investigators are working to identify the two individuals on the CCTV footage and to determine whether the attack was planned or coordinated with others.
They are also seeking to establish whether the reported meeting existed, what its purpose was, whether additional facilities or individuals were identified as targets, and whether organisers, financiers or intellectual authors were behind the plot.
Guyana Police have separately questioned a suspect and seized a motorcycle, INews Guyana reported, as the investigation widens beyond the two figures on camera.
GPL wants terrorism and arson charges
Guyana Power and Light has called for the incident to be investigated under the Anti-Terrorism and Terrorist Related Activities Act 2015, alongside relevant provisions of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act covering arson, malicious damage and conspiracy.
That request matters. If the attack is prosecuted as ordinary mischief, it understates what GPL itself describes as an attempt to cripple the national grid. The statute book already gives the state the tools it needs; what Guyanans will watch for is whether they are used to the full, against financiers and organisers as well as the throwers.
Security review and international cooperation
Ali said security agencies are reviewing threats to critical infrastructure and taking preventative measures. He assured the public that the government, the Joint Services and the intelligence agencies, working with international partners, remain vigilant and are acting in coordination against threats to national security.
For a small state with a growing energy sector and foreign investors watching closely, the message from the presidency is the right one: attacks on the infrastructure that powers the economy are attacks on every household and every business connected to it. The response must be firm, transparent and aimed at the top of the chain, not just the bottom.
FAQ
Was the electricity supply interrupted by the Good Hope attack?
No. GPL confirmed that no line or feeder trips occurred and engineers found no major equipment damage after overnight inspections.
How many customers could have lost power?
Guyana Power and Light said a successful attack could have triggered a shutdown of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System, affecting more than 220,000 customers.
Who is investigating the attack?
The Guyana Police Force is investigating, with one suspect in custody and three others being sought, according to Guyana Chronicle. GPL has asked for the case to be pursued under the Anti-Terrorism and Terrorist Related Activities Act 2015.