Rain blamed for Lae blackouts

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday 5th January 2012

By SHIRLYN BELDEN
THUNDERSTORMS and heavy rains caused the power cuts in Lae city during Christmas and New Year, PNG Power said yesterday.
The rains caused disruption to the Taraka Feeder 4 power generator, throwing the second largest city into darkness at 11pm on Christmas Eve.
PNG Power Ltd acting chief executive officer Lawrence Solomon said company technical workers attended to the fault and managed to isolate Butibam village and parts of the Taraka suburb.
He said although the storm prevented them from acting quickly, electricity was restored at 11am the next day.
Several power poles were reportedly damaged by the storm.
Solomon confirmed power disruptions in Lae, Madang and the Highlands were a result of the heavy downpour, which caused problems to the Ramu (Yonki) generators on New Year’s Day.
He said all generators were now back on-line, with power restored to all centres.
Businesses in the Waigani and Gordon areas of the National Capital District had intermittent supply over the past two days because of a burnt power switch.
Solomon said, fortunately, no lives or property were lost after an electrical switch located opposite Vision City, along Waigani Drive, caught fire.
The cause of the fault could not be verified.
PNG Power yesterday confirmed the electrical fault to be minor.
The fault was then attended to and power restored.
People have been advised to be wary of electrical faults in homes and public places and to report any suspicious faults to the company’s 24-hour service on 323 4774, 324 3299, 719 81000/1/2/3.