PNG Power is currently facing significant revenue losses due to illegal power theft activities such as meter tampering, meter by-pass, and direct connections.
As a result, the company is unable to invest in repair and maintenance, spares, and other capital investments to improve the reliability of its power service. It was found in a recent study that over 100,000 customers are currently consuming power without a PNG Power meter and are therefore not registered as customers.
To address this issue, PNG Power has partnered with USAID-PEP to develop a Revenue Protection Strategy aimed at combating revenue leakages, maintaining existing cash flow, and growing revenue through new customer connections. One of the strategies employed by PNG Power is the Amnesty Initiative, which was launched in 2022 and has seen the signing up of over 18,000 illegal connections. This success has led to the launch of Amnesty Phase III on February 15, 2023.
Amnesty Phase III covers all towns except for Mt. Hagen in the Western Highland Province, and aims to register more illegal connections, collect bills, establish new connections, and monitor practices. The initiative encourages all consumers on illegal connections to come forward and register as new customers without penalty fees or back-bill charges during the amnesty period. Registration is free of charge, and after registration, a unique identification number is allocated to each customer. A minimum fixed monthly energy bill of K30 (small house), K40 (medium house), or K50 (large house) is paid by the registered consumer.
This process helps PNG Power register power users into the billing system, and the appropriate customer meters will be installed accordingly. This information also assists PNG Power in generating the right amount of energy and avoiding low voltage issues.
PNG Power invites all domestic consumers on illegal connections throughout PNG to come forward and register during the Amnesty Phase III. The Tokaut Program resumes after the Amnesty period, during which the public is rewarded with incentives for reporting illegal power connections. Consumers caught stealing power but have not registered under Amnesty will be prosecuted, and all penalty fees will be charged accordingly.