The PNG National Power Grid Backbone Infrastructure Project will improve the reliability and availability of power in the Highlands provinces.
PNG Power Acting Chief Executive Officer, Obed Batia said the project is in line with Government’s desire to improve access by PNG households to reliable power supply.
Approved 6 years ago by the NEC, Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock.Com Ltd (TBEA), a leading international enterprise in power transmission, was contracted to deliver phase 1 and 2 of the project.
“This project makes absolute commercial sense to PNG Power.
“The aim of the main project is to build the transmission network necessary to access cheap gas power from Hides to improve generation availability and reliability at the western end of the Highlands region to support generation from Pauanda and Yonki.
“The outcome of the project will reduce generation cost and power disruption caused by generation shortfall for the upper Highlands centres including Mt. Hagen. Tari will no longer rely on expensive diesel generation, with a move to cleaner cheaper locally extracted gas-powered generation.
“Ramu1 and Yonki hydro assets will have more available capacity to supply lower highlands centres, Lae and Madang”, he added.
Mr. Batia said KCH is funding the K71million project variation, through a shareholder agreement to PNG Power.
“This project is part of PNG Power’s 15-year power development plan and supports the company’s move to accessing cheaper energy production, whilst increasing transmission capacity and reliability.”