Electricity supply okay: PPL

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, November 1, 2015 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

 



RESIDENTS in the Port Moresby and surrounding areas can breathe a sigh of relief following confirmation from electricity supplier PNG Power that power generation in the city remains unaffected by the recent water level concerns recorded by hydro power generation at its Rouna 2 plant and the Sirinumu dam.

They said unlike before when the dam was supported by a few other power generation sources like thermal, gas, and diesel generation- the introduction of more generation facilities and recent improved supply from the ExxonMobil LNG gas powered plant will maintain the city’s needs.

The comments came with queries by the media, on a visit to Rouna 2 and the Sirinumu dam this week, about last week’s flickering blackouts that saw a barrage of outages across the capital city.

PPL Water Management Officer, Laun Medakou said with the added boost from the LNG power plant into the PPL grid had greatly improved the electricity provider's ability to support any shortfalls from any possible shutdown of Rouna hydro power plant.

"The blackouts had nothing to do with the current water situation. It was due to the cleaning of insulators of the main lines running between the Kanudi power plant and the LNG plant that were washed to clean off dust that shock circuited the main line," Medakou said.

"Located along the coast when the wind blows it creates dust buildup- even the thermal stations need water for their cooling systems, to prevent over heating on the conductor lines going to Exxon Mobil LNG site, little rain or showers build up in the insulators to cause over shocks.

"The LNG plant is working currently after washing down the line over the weekend when it was put off. Doing load shedding to cater for the citys need."

He said they have enough power generation in the city, with an additional agreement for Exxon Mobil for an additional 25 megawatts from its power plant.

"Currently the 25 megawatt they are using allows any surplus to be added to the PNG Power grid."

"They have 7 gas turbines, so now they are giving us 25 megawatts and we are expecting an additional 25."

He added that current concerns are for the water users with no concerns for panic for electricity users.

"For our case there is no need to panic as it is the water users we are concerned for because whatever we use here, the same goes down and Eda Ranu taps it off to its consumers."