PPL irate over ‘free riders’

SIX business houses in Port Moresby have been operating on free electricity for almost a year until this week when they were discovered and their power supplies disconnected.
The “free riders” had avoided paying electricity bills, or were paying less for the power consumed based on the domestic rate meant for private homes and households.
PNG Power Limited (PPL) yesterday identified one of the defaulters as Rahamatullil Alamin Limited, owned by a businessman from Bangladesh with three mini supermarkets at Hohola, Sabama and Morata’s City Hall.
PPL meter audit high consumption acting manager Ben Tembu said the Bangladeshi had avoided paying his monthly bills for almost a year, allegedly through extending electricity lines from a home supply to one of his shops.
“This is happening, not only in Port Moresby, throughout PNG.
“PNG Power is losing millions of kina in revenue every year through such illegal connections,” Tembu said.
“What the Bangladeshi did is illegal. You cannot divert electricity meant for domestic use to run your businesses to make money.
“The charges and rates are different.”
Tembu said as a matter of consequences and in accordance with the National Energy Authority Act, defaulting businesses would also be slammed with a 50 per cent “standby charge” on top of their outstanding bills. No electricity will be restored until they have settled in full.
The disconnection exercise by PPL started in September and was continuing.
Lae, Goroka, Mt Hagen and Kokopo would soon start hunting down their defaulters, especially the business houses. Tembu said police, customs and the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission would be engaged to deal with these lawbreakers.