Electricians question experience of casuals

 FOUR private electrical contractors operating in Enga are concerned about the casual labourers engaged by the PNG Power Limited in Wabag to do electrical work.

The certified electrical contractors are Wantok Electrical, Jet, Waile and Ben Dan Electrical.

They have called on the PNG Power management in Port Moresby to send inspectors to check the qualifications of the casuals.

Ben Dan of Ben Dan Electrical said only certified and trained electricians should be allowed to do electrical work.

“In Enga, we see youths from the village that do not go to school driving around in PNG Power marked vehicle and doing electrical work,” he said. He said the risk of these casuals being electrocuted or making wrong connections could cause accidents.

Dan said there were safety measures and procedures which all certified linesmen, inspectors and private electrical contractors must follow.

On June 11, he said a 21-year-old from Teremanda village in Wabag nearly got killed after he was engaged by PNG Power to fix a faulty line at St Paul’s Pausa Secondary School in Wapenamanda.

Dan said for public safety, people must only engage certified electricians.

The PNG Power manager in the province was away in Port Moresby last week and could not be reached for comment.