Rabaul gets boost to power supply

THE rural electrification programme in the Rabaul district has been boosted by the arrival of two containers of electrical accessories that will be used to connect its rural areas.
The items, which are normally supplied by PNG Power, were outsourced by the district through local company Arpi Ltd, which was recently licenced by PNG Power to supply electricity hardware items.
The two containers were cleared by Customs officers Boas Rauli and Mary Kalama at the Kurakakaul headquarters yesterday upon arrival from Brisbane, Australia.
The hardware includes conductors, cables, nuts and bolts, porcelain insulators and stay wires, among other items, totalling more than K600,000.
They were supplied by Expro Queensland Pty Ltd.
Arpi Ltd is awaiting an additional K600,000 worth of electrical hardware for the Rabaul district that is expected to arrive in the province before the end of the year.
Arpi Ltd manager Dennyson Kivung said his company had received a licence from PNG Power early this year, enabling it to buy
the items directly from abroad.
All items meet PNG Power specifications.
He said Rabaul was the first district to
out-source through his company for the rural electrification programme in the district.
Kivung said his company worked in close consultation with PNG Power and he thanked the Rabaul district administration for the confidence it had in his
company to deliver the services.
He said with the arrival of the hardware lines, the Rabaul district administration would be able to complete its rural electrification programme, which was delayed to await the arrival of the items from
Brisbane.
The Rabaul district administration had initially outsourced the purchasing of wooden power poles from Tropical Highlands Timbers in Kagamuga, Western Highlands, with clearance from PNG Power inspectors last year.