Power cuts to continue
The National, Tuesday April 12th, 2016
RESIDENTS of the National Capital District will continue to experience power outages for an indefinite period because of a “shortfall in generation capacity”, according to PNG Power Limited.
It blamed the shortfall on “faults” at the Moitaka power station, the PNG Power-owned Kanudi power station and the StatCom voltage controller at Boroko.
It also blamed the low water level at Sirinumu Dam caused by the long dry weather pattern.
“There is a shortfall of 45 megawatts which has reduced the available generation capacity of 132.6mw to 87.60mw. This is not sufficient to meet NCD’s current demand of 115mw of electricity,” PPL said.
“The load shedding exercise will go on for an indefinite period until the problems are fixed. Customers with standby generators are asked to use them during this period.
“PNG Power assures our customers that our technical team is working around the clock to fix these technical issues as soon as possible.”
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill recently said there was more than enough electricity to meet the demands in Port Moresby and Lae.
He blamed the lack of maintenance for compounding the blackouts.
“More than enough power is generated in the cities of Port Moresby and Lae to meet the current demands of our people and businesses,” O’Neill said.