Think differently to address challenges

MANY who blame service providers for water and power supply woes in Port Moresby do not know that water for power generation is planned on a daily basis.
There are three sources of water supply for power generation and three sources of water supply for Port Moresby – Rouna 1 and 3 diurnal pond, Rouna 4 weir and a pumping station at the Laloki river opposite the Pacific Adventist University that feeds the Mt Eriama water treatment plant.
Water released from Sirinumu dam is dictated by the cubic metres of water demanded by the average fluctuating power demand for the city on a daily basis and supplemented by Eilogo and Eworogo creeks running through Sogeri plateau into Laloki hydro scheme comprising Rouna 1 and 3, Rouna 2 and Rouna 4 power stations.
Major industrial and commercial consumers should be subjected to a complete technical audit and inspections to ensure that motors rating 4 kilowatts and above are connected in star delta connection and according to PNG Power Ltd’s trade circular standards.
If you see a light flicker in your office, then you should know that you have a problem in your 240 volts supply being dragged by a certain load or unbalanced phase loadings of the distribution lines causing the voltage to drop below the standard 240 volts plus or minus 5 per cent tolerance.
It means that registered or licenced contractors involved in electrical wiring power and control circuits of industrial and commercial consumers are at error and should be thoroughly checked by PNG Power Ltd inspectors for violating standards.
These few technicalities should be understood if people are genuinely concerned about water and power supply in the nation’s capital.
Once these are understood, we will be able to solve reliability problems with PNG Power Ltd with other administrative and human resource issues within the company.
We have to think differently. As Albert Einstein once said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”.
Let his be a challenge for PNG Power Ltd staff.

Esau D Noel,
Former PPL Employee