Commission takes PPL to court

National

THE Independent Consumer and Competition Commission has taken PNG Power Ltd (PPL) to court for failing to comply with one of its regulatory requirements.
ICCC Commissioner and chief executive officer Paulus Ain said PPL was required under the Electricity Industry Act and Electricity Industry (General) Regulation to report any accident occurring within its power grid to ICCC as the regulator of the electricity industry.
Ain alleged that an accident occurred in January resulting in the electrocution and death of a seven-year-old girl at East Boroko, National Capital District.
“This fatal accident was never reported to the ICCC until pictures of the deceased were posted on a Facebook page and was later confirmed by ICCC through its own investigation,” Ain said.
“PPL’s continuous failure to report such fatal accidents within its power grids has resulted in ICCC taking legal action against PPL.”
Ain said the ICCC was taking such action to ensure that PPL and other licensed power companies complied with the regulations.
He said the case would be heard in November.