A new era for power supplier

 THE appointment of a new chairman of PNG Power Ltd should ensure less turbulence at the much-maligned national electricity supplier.

This is because businessman Larry Andagali is determined to face his newest challenge with an open mind and a neutral perspective.

Andagali is adamant that he will not take sides in the current row between the PPL senior management and their workforce.

Indeed, the founder and managing director of one of the country’s largest landowner transportation and logistics companies wants to use his business skills to turn the ailing state-owned entity into a viable enterprise.

And Andagali has the total support of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and State Enterprises Minister Ben Micah who want PNG Power to be become an efficient and reliable electricity supplier that can only earn some profits for the government coffers.

However, the new chairman has some immediate issues that need to be resolved amicably between the management and staff.

It seems that PPL workers across the country are not happy with the management’s response to their petition on a number of issues, which includes salary reviews, demand for the PPL board to be sidelined, investigations into the Pacific Assurance Group and the fibre optic installation issues.

The workers plan to hold meetings today in Port Moresby, Lae, Yonki and Rabaul to discuss the response, or the lack of it, from acting chief executive officer Chris Bais and his senior management team.

It is understood staff were told last week that their salary reviews would be done later this year in accordance with the Enterprise Agreement and as cash flow permits. 

The management advised that the fibre optic installation was suspended pending a full review of safety and other issues

Workers were advised that their demand for the entire PPL board to be sidelined and investigation on the PAG issue was a matter for Micah to address.

The new chairman will put his negotiation skills to  the test when handling these rather delicate issues. 

For a start, the relegation of former chairman Robert Bradshaw to the role of deputy chairman and the removal of Independent Pub­lic Business Corporation (IPBC) managing director Wasantha Kumarasiri from the board may have help ease the tension among workers who were calling for Bradshaw’s scalp over the PAG issue.

It remains to be seen whether the National Executive Council made the right decision to retain Bradshaw on the PPL board as Andagali’s deputy. 

The PPL workers may feel that the former chairman remains an obstacle to an amicable resolution of their grievances.

Nonetheless, Andagali needs to stamp his authority on PNG Power right from the start and ensure that the acting chief executive and his senior managers provide an efficient and effective management that will put the company back on the track to achieving its key objectives of being a reliable power supplier.

On their part, the management and staff should view the change of leadership at the board level as a positive step in ending the current debacle and restoring normalcy throughout their entire network.

Undoubtedly, the new chairman brings a breath of fresh air to PNG Power, which should boost morale within the workforce.

Unlike other state-owned entities, PNG Power mono­polises its industry which is a major contributing factor to the inefficiency and mismanagement that have dogged the power supplier for much of its existence. 

With Andagali at the helm, PPL should be able to overcome its current problems and step up a level or two to face new challenges in providing reliable power supplies for its clients.

Top on the list of operational issues facing the new board is the power supply issue in the National Capital District and Lae.

Consumers in these two major centres, especially bu­siness houses, are crying foul over the constant power outages that are affecting their operations.  While many of them use their own generators for back-up supplies, they should not have to dig deeper every time PNG Power fails to supply power.