Caption: Governor Parkop
By MATTHEW VARI
Sunday, May 4, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)
NATIONAL Capital District Governor, Powes Parkop has slammed PNG Power Limited for what he termed were unacceptable blackouts experienced throughout the nation’s capital over the last two week.
The governor in a press conference last week assured residents and business houses that he had expressed his frustrations on behalf of the city to the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and the Minister for Public Enterprise and State Investments Ben Micah.
“I want to assure our people in the city, all our corporate houses, and residents that up till yesterday (Monday April 28) I have expressed our concern to the Prime Minister at the level of blackouts are getting too frequent and too long, which is not acceptable anymore,” Parkop said.
“It is not good for businesses and schools, and I can’t understand why in this time and age in a city the size of Port Moresby we are having this problem.”
“There is technology in the world and we have the money and something is wrong with PNG Power so I have called on the PM yesterday along with the Minister for public Enterprise.”
He said that there should be an immediate short term solution to the problem of power blackouts in Port Moresby.
“The residents don’t accept it and neither do the corporate houses and us at the commission accept it anymore,” he added.
The governor expressed his embarrassment for the city and country as a whole to export gas from the LNG Project and still face energy problems in terms of electricity generation.
“It will be an embarrassment for us and morally wrong to export gas and have a blackout problem in Port Moresby our capital city.”
“How can we export gas and we have numerous blackouts in the capital, it is not acceptable.”
Parkop called on the minister responsible and the PM must find a short term solution to the problem and then work on a medium to long term solution, which he emphasised that the use of gas must be a an integral part of.
Meanwhile in a released statement from the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the electricity provider, Chris Bais, the blackouts were a result of emergency load shedding in parts of NCD.
“PNG Power advises the General Public in NCD and surrounding areas that load shedding is being carried out in parts of the nation’s capital due to a shortfall in generation capacity.”
“A major problem on the transmission line between the Moitaka Power Station and the Kanudi Power Station tripped all generators in all power statins supplying NCD, causing at total blackout at around 2.20am on Wednesday,” he said.
He said that despite PNG Power’s Power Station at Moitaka and all four hydro power stations at Rouna were restored- the privately owned Hanjung Power Station and PPL’s Kanudi Gas Turbine Power Station as Kanudi were still offline resulting in the shortfall of power generation.
The fault last week blew up the DC supply circuits that supplied the controls at the Hanjung Power Station, and also blew up parts of the starter motor at the Kanudi Gas Turbine Power Station.
“This had caused a shortfall of 40 Mega Watts (MW) thus reducing the generations capacity to 60 MW which is not sufficient to cater for the demand of the Port Moresby System which 110 MW,” he said.
“All machines have since come online but three machines at Moitaka and one at the privately owned Hanjung Power Station are still offline,” it read.
“Load Shedding is being carried out in some areas that are receiving power supply from feeders at Waigani, Boroko, Konedobu, Kanudi and Bomana Sub Stations.”
“Once the issues on the machines are rectified, normal power supply should be expected in Port Moresby.”
Load shedding schedules will be posted on the PNG Power Facebook page soon and also published in the daily papers tomorrow.
Further information, can be obtained from the 24 Hour Service Numbers 324 3299 or 323 4774 or mobile numbers 7198 1002 or 7198 1003.
PNG Power sincerely apologized for any inconvenience caused.
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