Blacklock embraces K3.6 billion electricity plan

PNG POWER Ltd acting managing-director Carolyn Blacklock says a K3.6 billion electrification project is the best thing to happen to thiscountry.
She was speaking after the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea signed an agreement that will see 70 per cent of the country supplied with electricity by 2030.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Apec Leaders’ Summit at Apec Haus in Port Moresby on Sunday.
“It’s monumental,” Blacklock said. “This will forever change Papua New Guinea. This will forever change PNG Power.
“I think we finally got together, the people that are invisible who don’t have light, suddenly have the light on them. We will never ever be the same again, for six to seven million Papua New Guineans, who don’t have access to electricity.
“This agreement will deliver electricity by 2030.
“When you have the commitment of countries like Australia, the US, New Zealand, Japan and Papua New Guinea together, I think it’s no longer a dream.
“This has now got to be executed and it’s going to happen.”
Blacklock said the project would cost about US$100 million (K332 million) every year for 12 years.
“That’s K300 million every year for 12 years, which works out to K3.6 billion,” she said.
Blacklock could not give a breakup of how much each country would contribute towards the project.
She said PNG Power was now at the first stage of the electrification plan, focusing on priority areas.
“We have to create a plan for at least the next few years and as a 12-year plan after that,” Blacklock said. “This year, we did nearly 18,000 connections in Papua New Guinea, just with PNG Power.
“We’ve absolutely tripled anything that we’ve ever done before.
“Next year, the budget already includes K30 million to do connections. We hope next year to do 30,000 connections, more than double what we did this year.
“That would be a monumental task in itself just for next year.”
Blacklock said this project would be the biggest ever undertaken by PPL.
“I think the reason we have these partners coming on board is what we did this year,” she said.
“We’ve never done more than a couple of thousand (connections) every year. What we did this year was 18,000 – that managed to get our partners very excited about what PNG Power can do.
“PNG Power has to be central to all of this to ensure that we get good governance, that we’re honest when we’re delivering on this, that we can execute properly.”