Downed power poles and damaged generators cut power to Tari

By Malum Nalu in Mt Hagen
Tari, the provincial capital of Hela, is still without electricity after Monday’s earthquake, says PNG Power Ltd’s Hela manager, Andrew Magaiya.
Magaiya told The National in Mt Hagen the power cut had been caused by the collapse of power poles and the damage to two diesel generators.
“In Hela, a lot of damage has been done to assets and power, especially the machines, the transformers, power poles and the power lines,” he said.
“Two poles have fallen, about 15 are leaning sideways, about four strands of power line have been broken which need to be connected.
“Our priority will be to make sure that the generators are okay. They have to be tested before we restart them.
“Then we’ve got to test our transformers to make sure they are operational.
“We’ve got to fix the poles, put them back in their right positions, connect the lines again, put them on. Then we should be back to normal operations. We will then light up Hela again.”
Magaiya said it would take at least a month.
He said Tari had two generators.
“One operates for two weeks then we put it off and put the next generator on,” he said.
“The boys maintain that to ensure that they are in good condition.”
Magaiya said he had submitted a report to PPL management in Port Moresby.
“We will have to bring in our specialists to see exactly what we need,” he said.
Magaiya said people had to use their own gensets for the time being.
But it will depend on the availability of diesel which is now hard to get after the earthquake.
“If the earthquake has damaged the service stations, then they might not be operating,” he said.
“With the road conditions, tankers are unable to go in. It means a total blackout in Tari.”