Pensioners electricity subsidy takes effect this month – INews Guyana

2026-06-05 Newsfeed

The annual $30,000 electricity subsidy budgeted for pensioners will begin to be applied to their electricity bills from this month end, according to a notice from the Human Services and Social Security Ministry on Tuesday.

This applies to all pensioners who have a Guyana Power and Light (GPL) account in their names. Pensioners who do not see the subsidy reflected on their June bill are asked to contact their nearest GPL office.

For post-paid customers, the $30,000 will be applied directly as a credit on their June 2026 electricity bill, while for prepaid customers the funds will be deposited directly into the customer’s electronic wallet within the GPL system. For the prepaid customers, eligible seniors can then visit any GPL Commercial Office or Customer Service Centre to convert the subsidy into an electricity token.

Speaking with Inews, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Dr Erica Forte explained that the subsidy is directly related to GPL and would only pertain to customers who have GPL bills in their name, while the Government is working to bring cost-cutting measures to residents who fall outside of the Demerara Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS).

“Here at the Ministry, we have a GPL pensioners programme and the GWI pensioners’ programme. But the Government has other systems in place [for other utility providers]. And they have things like solar power and so on, which gives back to the people once implemented. So there are different ways that they’re addressing it. In Region Seven, for example, they are doing solar farming, so everybody’s getting a 25 per cent reduction,” Forte noted.

The $30,000 electricity subsidy is part of a slew of measures that were appropriated for in the 2026 budget, which was passed in February. Aside from the electricity subsidy, pensioners in Guyana

Pensioners, which includes all Guyanese citizens 65 years and older, also benefit from a monthly old age pension that was increased to $46,000 in 2026. A transportation grant of $20,000 per pensioner was also budgeted for in 2026. Under a subsidy programme with the Guyana Water Inc (GWI), pensioners get up to $750 off their water bills every month.