PNG Power Limited (PPL)

PNG Power said the cause of this disruption is the malicious damage on a transformer at the Himotovi Substation located just outside the township.

Vital services in Goroka town have been affected since 11am yesterday, with the Goroka General Hospital operating on back-up generator, same goes for banks and schools.

Goroka is currently reliant on locally generated diesel power, albeit with scheduled load shedding measures in place to conserve resources.

PPL chief executive officer, Obed Batia expressed his heartfelt wishes to the nation and made commitment to the people stating that a dedicated team of technical experts will work tirelessly throughout the long weekend to guarantee uninterrupted power supply across the nation.

The truck, valued at around K165,000, was purchased from Boroko Motors with funding from the Provincial Services Improvement Program (PSIP).

The truck was delivered to the PPL yard in Kokopo, on Friday, August 18th. It was received by the PPL management, headed by NGI regional operations manager, Paul Nau.

Governor Marum said too many times, people criticise PPL for power problems that they experience but do not know the hardships that this SOE faces. And as the host government, they have to assist this entity instead of criticising it.

The case sheds light on the responsibilities of landlords regarding the actions of their tenants and serves as a reminder to businesses and individuals about the consequences of meter tampering and illegal connections.

The matter came to the forefront when Kitogara Limited, a property owner based in Koki, sought a court order to permanently restrain PPL from disconnecting electricity. This move followed the issuance of a substantial back-bill of K323, 517.29 to Kitogara due to illegal electricity connections carried out by one of its tenants, Changle Enterprise Ltd.

In its mass disconnection notice, PPL said customers who have outstanding electricity bills will be disconnected.

“Reconnection of supply will only be done upon full payment of outstanding debts owed plus reconnection fees,” said PPL.

“Customers are asked to visit your nearest PNG Power office to settle bills and you will be issued an official PPL receipt.” 

The Moitaka Power Station was established in 1980 and has been a reliable source of electricity until it was decommissioned in 2019 after several Independent Power Producers (IPP) were introduced into the Port Moresby Grid.

According to PNG Power Ltd (PPL) the Moitaka Power Station initially had a station output of 16 Megawatts (MW) from two Hitachi Zosen Z40 Diesel Engines (Unit 1 & 2).

The company is equally concerned about providing good electricity service to its customers and needs the support of its stakeholders to comply with the rule of law.

According to the Electricity Industry Act 2000 and the Criminal Code Act, it is a crime to illegally connect or divert energy to use free power. Anyone found guilty of this offense can face a penalty of up to three years in prison.

NSL recently held its first major stakeholder engagement with PNG Power Limited (PPL).

As one of PNG's largest state-owned enterprises with over 1,800 staff across the country, most PPL staff do not have the time to visit an NSL branch to update their information or check on their super.

The initiative is part of PNG Power’s long-term program aimed at combatting revenue leakages, and maintaining existing revue connections whilst making new ones.

Since the extension of the initiative was launched on Monday May 30, many new customers have stepped forward to register.

PPL has continuously advised all unregistered electricity consumers connected to the PNG Power grid without a meter, to go forward and register as new customers at their nearest PNG Power offices or call the toll free number 116.

All Unregistered electricity consumers connected to the PNG Power grid without a meter are encouraged to go forward and register as new customers at their nearest PNG Power offices or call the toll free number 116.

The Amnesty Program is an initiative of PPL and partners, USAID-PEP. The program is part of PPL’s Revenue protection Strategy (short, medium and long-term) as part of its 3-year corporate plan aimed at combatting revenue leakages, maintaining existing revenue and growth revenue through new customers.