By JULIA DAIA BORE
THE Rouna and Moitaka power plants were shut down last night, causing a blackout in most parts of Port Moresby city, as PNG Power workers carried out their threat to go on strike.
The shutdown was in apparent defiance of a court order the PNG Power Ltd management had taken out earlier.
Last night, the Government responded sternly, warning that it considered this a law and order issue and would use its powers to arrest the perpetrators of the strike.
The court order obtained last Friday and served on the energy workers executive at about 5:30pm on Monday restrains the workers from withdrawing their labour and refrains them from shutting down all power supply throughout PNG.
PNG Power Board chairman Sari Maso said late yesterday the unions would be in contempt of court if they went ahead and switched off the power supply.
A judge will hear the case today.
The unions have responded to the action by filing a defence, and their lawyers are expected to be in court to argue their case.
The Energy Workers Association members in Port Moresby met with PNG Trade Union Congress officials yesterday and insisted that they will not back down.
They told reporters at about 2pm that the Rouna Hydro power station had shut down power supply.
They claimed officers in other province would follow suit, but operations in the Yonki power plant in Eastern Highlands province was continuing normally last night.
“We are continuing as normal,” an officer contacted at Yonki Plant, said.
Yonki supplies power to the Highlands region, Morobe and Madang.
Meanwhile, Trade Union Congress general secretary John Paska has called on the Government to sack the PPL Board headed by Mr Maso.
He said he was appalled that the PNG Power Board would stand by one man, over the wishes of the energy workers.
But in a statement issued last night, Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat said the strike was unlawful and illegal.
Dr Marat said the appointment and termination of the CEO of PNG Power Ltd was a board of management matter and not an industrial issue.
He said if it were, it had not been registered as an industrial dispute.
He also warned that the strike was in contempt of the court order issued.
The Attorney-General warned that the denial of essential electricity services to the people of PNG would attract the invocation of the powers available to the Government under the Essential Services Act and the Industrial Relations Act.
He said where peace and good order was threatened, or where the health, safety and welfare of people were threatened, the Government was entitled to declare a State of Emergency to clamp down on perpetrators of the strike.