Photo credit: Papua New Guinea Today
Governor Undialu of Hela made an announcement recently during a low-key PPA signing ceremony between PNG Power and Dirio. Dirio will develop between 30 and 50 megawatts of power for PPL to distribute to the Highlands grid under the terms of the PPA.
Dirio has completed its first power project in Caution Bay, near the PNGLNG Plant Site, which is expected to be operational later this month. PPL needed to modernize its transmission and substation infrastructure, which took a lengthy time. Governor Undialu advised landowners not to trust Facebook zealots who only know how to write beautiful English and have no idea how tough it is to get into a foreign-dominated sector.
The Dirio Project will make use of the 240km 132kva power transmission lines that are currently being built between Hagen and Hides. For the past 30 donkey years, Hela and SHP have remained in the dark. The rest of the highlands and Momase are in desperate need of a cheap and dependable electricity source. That is the purpose of this PPA.
He also thanked Prime Minister Hon. James Marape, Minister Duma, Moses Maladina-Chairman of the PPL Board, Obert Batia-CEO PPL with all his technical officers, Chairman and MD of Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd, Chairman and MD of Dirio and MRDC Ambr Isac Lupari, MRDC MD Augustine Mano, Acting CEO of Dirio Mr Tuan, ExxonMobil, and everyone
Governor Undialu wrapped up his remarks by noting, "Hides' low-cost, dependable power supply is a game-changer for the highlands and parts of Momase. The Hela Community's fulfillment of the 'Hela Gigira Laitebo Prophecy' is significant "..
Reference: Papua New Guinea Today (14 October 2021). “PNG Power and Dirio sign Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for Hela Power”.
