Businesses urged to find alternative power sources

PNG Chamber of Commerce president Ian Tarutia says business houses must look at alternative power sources to adapt with recent power supply issues in the country.
Tarutia said that apart from PNG Power Ltd’s existing structure and infrastructure issues, the country’s sole power supplier had been hard hit by natural disasters – drought and earthquake – further stressing its already struggling service.
He said this impact had further inflicted more hardships for businesses in the country.
“It’s a tough one because we know the immediate answer is to deliver a reliable and affordable power supply and transmission but obviously this needs money,” he said.
“So for businesses, it’s about adaptability because if you keep relying on the power generation by the state, then your business will suffer.
“The conversation now between the Government and PPL is about the plans in place to alleviate the power supply issues – a lot of business houses are carrying the cost of producing their own power and it has impacted their sustainability.
“Everyone has invested heavily now in backup generators but with increase in fuel prices, cost of business has actually gone up; the government has intervened by subsidising fuel costs.
“But the question everyone is asking now is how long can we sustain this?
“Ideally, what we need is alternate power supply generation, distribution and transmission.”