Marape: PPL vital to vision

By HELEN TARAWA
PNG Power Ltd (PPL) will play an important role in contributing to Prime Minister James Marape’s vision of making PNG the richest black Christian nation in the world, the prime minster says.
This was highlighted at a brief meeting by Marape with the board and management of PPL yesterday when he talked about reducing the cost of electricity for Papua New Guineans.
PPL acting managing director Carolyn Blacklock, who was accompanied by chairman Peter Nupiri at the meeting with Marape, told The National that the prime minister was already talking about the company’s reform agenda.
“To do that he wants to see how we are going to reduce the cost of electricity to Papua New Guineans, they seem to like his vision and support,” she said.
“We left the meeting really delighted and we just need to be more specific about how we are going to deliver on that vision.”
Blacklock said Marape emphasised how PPL would contribute to PNG being the richest black Christian nation on earth.
He was intent that the price of electricity would be lowered – aligned with PPL’s reform agenda and what they had been undertaking.
Meanwhile, Blacklock said PPL had secured about US$700 million (about K2.3 billion) for a national electrification partnership programme between 2019 and 2021.
She said World Bank with Australian funding had appointed a firm that would start next month on the 2020 to 2030 PNG electrification plan.
“This year, we are focusing on existing programmes intensification, we want more meters and not kilometres,” she said
“We built too many kilometres of line and now we need to connect households and we are really using 2019 to do that and to do the settlements to suburbs upgrade for Port Moresby.”