Papua New Guinea began New Year 2023 with sizzling fireworks that lit up the skies.

But our hopes of shrugging off the “power blackout” tag ended just as the year was a few hours old.

An hour into New Year celebrations in the capital Port Moresby, like a perennial remnant, the inevitable popped like a fireworks flare gone bonkers — resulting in an inkiness that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

Eleven days into the year, black outs are holding businesses and people to ransom across the country, prompting PNG Power Limited CEO Obed Batia to address the root cause of the constant outages.

According to Batia, the reasons range from aging equipment to high rainfall, vegetation that overwhelms power lines, the refusal of customers to allow PNG Power to trim vegetation and access powerlines, and low diesel fuel.

The creepy crawlies like snakes, rats and bats that can spark a major outage by squatting illegally in a transmitter don’t even rate a mention.

Batia said overgrown trees near power lines are some of the biggest contributors to blackouts, and the refusal of customers to allow PPL workers to cut down these trees add to the problem in many parts of the country.

Resisting cutting trees
He said: “Many customers resist PNG Power officers from cutting the trees and clearing of the vegetation within their properties. We are working with external parties to control this.”

Lae PPL office refused to answer questions asked by the Post-Courier about blackouts in Morobe.

In Goroka, a blackout lasted from Jan 6-8 for 48 hours, coming on for only 30 mins and going off again.

Frustrated consumers urged PNG Power to come clear on why the blackout was continuing.

Chamber of Commerce president Chris Anders said the blackout comes as “the risk of having your business or home broken into” had escalated as criminals took advantage of the blackouts, as they normally hit in the early hours of the morning.

“The lack of announcements from PNG Power on what they are doing to fix the power supply is deafening,” Anders said.

PPL said: “The Power Transformer at Himitovi Substation in Goroka which caters for the Goroka load experienced a technical fault on Friday around 2am.

“The issue was rectified at 7pm on Saturday night and power fully restored for Goroka customers.”

Without power for 8 days
Along the North Coast Road in Madang, a community has been without power for eight days with requests receiving responses that never were followed up by PPL.

Batia said that rainfalls have attributed to low water levels at Yonki and Ramu will see continued load shedding in Madang and Highlands while Lae has been assured of supply from Taraka, Mildford Power Stations, Baiune Power Station in Bulolo and the Munum IPP.

“In Port Moresby, recent system outages were experienced due to technical issues between all generation power stations both at PNG Power and the Independent Power Producers (IPPs),” he said.

“We are working together with our IPP stakeholders to ensure we correct those issues with respect grid control and regulation issues, in order to provide stable power.

“All Highlands centres and Madang have their standby power stations which supplement the load.

“There has been little increase in the water level but not to a capacity for the Ramu Hydropower Station to generate to full capacity yet.

Back to normal for Kokopo
“Gazelle grid has stopped load shedding and the system is back to normal for Kokopo, Rabaul and Kerevat customers,” Batia added.

“In all other provincial centres who run on diesel fuel power stations, our challenge is ensuring our fuel suppliers get supply to our power stations on time.

“When there is late supply, our teams resort to load shedding, which is conserving fuel until the next supply of fuel is delivered.

“Discussions are ongoing with our fuel suppliers to ensure we have an understanding on time supply for our diesel power stations.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A Papua New Guinean businessman has been arrested and charged by police as the first of 15 “persons of interest” relating to post national election violence in the Southern Highlands Province earlier this year.

Police have confirmed the unsuccessful candidate for the SHP regional seat, Peter Nupiri, a former chair of PNG Power and a construction business managing director, has been arrested and charged over election-related crimes.

Police Commissioner David Manning confirmed the arrest and charging of Peter Nupiri.

A search warrant was executed by police as confirmed by Commissioner Manning.

“We are not time bound by the elections. If these candidates think that we are, then they are sadly misinformed,” he said.

Police also confirmed a candidate personally presented himself to Commissioner Manning and was interviewed by the Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ascertain whether he was criminally responsible for crimes committed in Mendi, SHP.

He was not charged but will be required if evidence permits.

200 ballot boxes destroyed
Police allege that Nupiri, 46, from Olea village, Mendi, Southern Highlands, communicated with individuals to destroy about 200 ballot boxes that were stored at the Mendi police station.

Police allege his communication via mobile phone to several men led to the six-days violent destruction of Mendi town.

The ballot boxes were stored at the police station after supporters had disputed the counting of the 200 plus ballot boxes.

On August 18, several armed men allegedly entered the premises and fired several gun shots and threatened the duty officers.

They then took control of the premises and opened the two containers where the boxes were kept and took the boxes out and destroyed the ballot boxes by setting them on fire.

The result of the actions taken by the men led to the burning down of properties, killing of 15 people and destruction of other property.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A massive earthquake has sent shockwave across PNG with at least four dead, properties and key infrastructure destroyed and fears of a mounting death toll.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck at 9:45am yesterday and rocked the newly-built five-star dormitories at the University of Goroka, leaving about 7600 students homeless and forcing PNG Power to shut down the country’s biggest dam at Yonki.

The plant generates and supplies power to Morobe, Madang and the Highlands region. Parts of Highlands Highway in the Markham Valley were cracked open.

At the UoG, the students rushed down the stairways and scurried out of the dormitories as a debris of brick blocks, metals and glasses crashed around them. The ceilings and walls cracked open and a section of one of the buildings’ roofs collapsed.

“The earthquake of whatever size it was has hit all our new dormitories to the very core of their foundations,” said a university academic, Dr Maninga.

“We invite the structural engineering professionals to assess the damage before we make any serious decision.

“We will also enquire with the national geohazard centre if we are to expect another earthquake and of what magnitude.

“Also, we look forward to meeting with a team from the DHERST (Department of Higher Education Research Science and Technology) with Minister Don Polye.

Tackling the emergency
“This unfortunate natural disaster has placed us in an emergency situation and we look forward to meeting with them to address this emergency. In the meantime, the students are advised to find shelters where they can.

“Those students from outside the province can use the classrooms for studies and lodging as well.

“The mess will be opened and continue to serve the students.”

The UoG students council representative, Melvin Kink, said the students understood the situation they were in now and would cooperate with the administration to live through it until further advice.

He also told the PNG Post-Courier that their library building was also affected.

PNG Power advised of a total power system outage in Morobe, Madang and the Highlands region following the earthquake.

The power supplier confirmed reports of damages at the Ramu Hydro power station and switch yard and advised that their team would carry out a proper check before they could safely restore power supply to their customers.

First medivac from landslide
The Post-Courier received a report of Manolos Aviation making its first medivac of a couple injured in a landslide as a direct result of the earthquake out of Kabwun district in Morobe Province.

In the Rai Coast, Madang Province, reports were going viral on social media of people and properties buried in landslides.

In Yelia Local Level Government constituency of Obura-Wanenara district in Eastern Highlands Province, Kevin Kojompa, a teacher at the Yelia Primary School, said staff houses were destroyed.

The National Disaster Centre acting director Martin Mose said he had not yet received a full report on the nationwide effects of the earthquake.

Yesterday was a weekend day and the Post-Courier was unable to reach the National Disaster Centre or its provincial branches bout the effects of the earthquake.

Meanwhile, aircraft were using Goroka Airport after the earthquake, which signals that it was not affected.

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz