Govt owes PPL K50mil

By HELEN TARAWA
THE Government owes PNG Power Ltd K50 million in utility bills which need to be settled immediately, according to State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel, pictured.
He told The National that PNG Power needed the money to pay fuel suppliers and independent power producers to maintain a consistent electricity supply around the country.
The Government accumulates K13 million each month in bills.
Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari deals with all the utility bills and decides who gets paid.
Departments and government agencies get their budget allowances but cannot access them to pay PNG Power directly.
The electricity supplier has started load shedding and disconnection exercises while awaiting the settlement of the outstanding amount.
Muthuvel said the independent power producer Kanudi Daewoo shut down two of its engines on Sunday, adding more pressure to the situation.
He said Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey was aware of the outstanding bill which would be captured in the supplementary budget to be tabled in Parliament this week.
“The Treasurer is fully aware of it. (It is) captured in the 2019 Supplementary budget and Treasury is committed to settle the outstanding amount,” Muthuvel said.
He said PNG Power had paid K6m to Puma Energy but still owed K3m. Puma Energy is insisting that the full amount be paid.
“PPL also owes money to Kanudi Daewoo (who) have shut down two of their engines yesterday (Sunday). That’s adding more pressure,” he said.
“All this can be resolved as soon as PNG Power get some payments from the Government.
“This can be further resolved by getting both gas-powered Niupower and Dirio power operational, which will save millions of kina to PPL and reduce pollution by stopping heavy fuel operation,” Muthuvel said.
PNG Power released a statement last week about load shedding and disconnection exercises.