Power Outage

The outage, now in its third day, has been attributed to two distinct incidents. Initially, tensions with local landowners escalated, resulting in the deliberate burning of a wooden power pole, causing it to collapse and leading to a partial outage. PNG Power's technical teams are actively engaged in discussions with the landowners to address the situation promptly.

PNG Power informed its valued customers and the general public about the situation in a post on its social media page on Facebook last night.

Local individuals in Chimbu, situated between Goroka and Kundiauwa, deliberately chopped down trees onto the transmission lines, resulting in the disruption of power. Despite the efforts of PNG Power personnel, the supply has not been restored and will be attempted again today.

Wendy Lavarabin’s family bought the treehouse around 2014 and in 2016, their house was built so they can move to the premises and start construction of their bungalows.

The first bungalow was constructed in 2018, while the iconic treehouse was demolished in 2019.

 With a laid-back atmosphere and crystal clear turquoise seas, Putput was worth the investment for the family from West Coast New Ireland, Morobe and East Sepik.

The outage happened at 12:15 pm today, and was caused by a fault on transmission line (L545) between Dirio Power Station and Kanudi sub-station.

Although PPL has not provided any information on the expected duration of the outage, PNG Power has reassured their clients and customers that their technical team is working tirelessly to restore power to all other lines and feeders.

Additionally, the affected line has been isolated for further inspection.

In a statement issued on April 4th, PNG Power Lorengau advised residents that the power station will be shut down for an indefinite period due to a delay in fuel shipment into the province by the supplier. 

Owner of Pokapin Fuel Service Station, Betty Pokapin, described the dilemma as a “frustrating situation” that is costing them their business and livelihood.

“Usually, we can make K1,000 in a day but now, we are really down to just K30 or K27,” she revealed.

In a statement, PNG Power advised its customers and the general public in Lae and surrounding areas outside of the city that the issue started midday yesterday.

“The fault has been identified to be between Munum IPP Power Station and Taraka Substation and Power Station,” said PPL.

“The fault is affecting the supply of electricity into Lae city from the Munum Power Station and the Ramu Grid.

“Line patrol conducted on Saturday afternoon until the fall of dark has been called off and will continue again at first sunlight.

The locals claimed the ship had destroyed a submarine power cable that brings power to more than 3,000 people on the island.

A frustrated council member of Krangket Island, Rodney Selarn, says the blackout is a big blow to the people on the island.

“I would like to say that I have two more weeks till my people send their children back to school. I have really struggled with my people and this is a huge blow to me personally and the people of Krangket Island.”

Argentine President Mauricio Macri has promised a full investigation.

Argentine media said the power cut occurred shortly after 07:00 (11:00 BST), causing trains to be halted and failures with traffic signalling.

The blackout was prompted by a failure in an electrical grid that serves both Argentina and Uruguay.

The outage occurred as people in Argentina were preparing to go to the polls for local elections, delaying voting in several regional provinces.

Parts of Paraguay were also affected, a state energy company said.

Acting Registrar General, Noel Mobiha, today explained the glitch in the system.

He said the outage is due to an overload of the system, causing a shutdown since last week.

“We lost the capability to have our staff here register onto the main body now, getting through the window to getting some work for the registrations,” Mobiha said.

Power outage is also believed to be the reason behind the glitch.

“Our registration numbers went beyond what was known for the systems.”

Ensisi and Waigani are some of these areas that welcomed the New Year with a power outage which was restored in the early hours of January 2^nd, then went out again in the evening and is yet to be restored on January 3^rd.

In a statement on their Facebook page, PNG Power Ltd said with the bad weather conditions, they are unable to provide restoration times however, their teams are working in the affected areas to restore supply.