Photo Credit: Loop PNG
Due to the ongoing power outages in the nation's capital, National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop has proposed offloading some assets to private sector organizations in order to provide continuous, dependable, and cheap electricity.
He claimed he met with William Duma, the Minister for State-Owned Enterprises, to discuss the unloading of some PPL assets in Port Moresby and Central Province.
Parkop said he will next meet with PNG Power Limited's management and board to examine the idea.
PNG Power's chief executive officer, Flagon Bekker, confessed the company was losing money before quitting.
PPL was losing K25 million in electricity per month owing to illicit connections, according to Parkop, whereas it required K50 million for operations and to cover obligations.
He said that this implies PPL has the financial ability to repair its old infrastructure, with banks and financial institutions refusing to provide loans to PNG Power Ltd to recapitalize and replace its dilapidated infrastructure due to the problems.
Despite management and government efforts, according to Parkop, the problem is far from being solved.
“In the city now, corporate entities are being forced to buy backup generators and become electricians or engage electricians on a full-time basis,” he said.
“This not only cuts into their finances but also diverts them away from their core business.
“Residents have not only suffered from unreliable electricity and continuous outage but also bear the brunt of costs passed on by business houses for having provided their own electricity.
“Ordinary residents are being hit two or three times a week as a result of this situation.”
Past governments and ministers, according to Parkop, have done their utmost to assist PNG Power in transforming itself so that it can offer better service, but all of their efforts appear to have been in vain.
“It is about time we accept what is obvious and deal with the problem so we can have solutions,” he said.
“In my view, the problem is PNG Power Ltd itself.
“The way it is structured, managed and capitalised simply cannot enable PNG Power Ltd to be a solution.
“The sooner we, especially you Minister (Duma), recognise and deal with this fact, the better it will be.
“Even if it’s an infrastructure problem, PNG Power Limited is not made out to solve this problem.
“PNG Power itself is the problem.”
He believed that valuing PPL assets in the city and Central for offloading to a corporate firm is the best approach to deal with the problem.
Reference:
Elapa, Jeffrey. Post-Courier (29 June 2021). “Parkop Bids To Offload Power Assets To Private Firm”.
