By VENESSA GISAO, UPNG Journalism Student
TWO new generators will soon provide a more reliable electricity supply to Yangoru-Saussia District following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Yangoru-Saussia District Development Authority (YSDDA) and PNG Power Limited (PPL).
The agreement was signed on Friday, 11 September, at the Ministry of International Trade and Investment office in Port Moresby, with Yangoru-Saussia MP and Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru confirming the development.
Under the agreement, the two generators, purchased by the DDA from Australia for K2 million, will be transferred to PPL for operation and maintenance.
Instead of reimbursing the K2 million directly to the DDA, PPL will use the equivalent amount to fund associated works for an eight-kilometre power-line extension from Kumun Village to Pomalmal High School.
Minister Maru said the new generators would address ongoing power supply problems in the district and provide reliable electricity to key institutions.
“Our key government institutions, including our district headquarters and the Sepik Fresh Farm, will now receive reliable power from these two generators once installed, and we will no longer experience total blackouts, which has been the case for the last 12 months,” he said.
The generators have a combined installed capacity of 1.2 megawatts and are currently in Lae. They will be transported to Wewak before being installed at PPL’s Maprik power station.
The planned power-line extension will run from Kumun Village to Pomalmal High School, passing through communities including Wilaru, Himbru, Bukinara, Alisu and Bubuamu.
The extension is expected to provide electricity to rural communities, local staff and students at Pomalmal High School, which serves remote areas of the West Yangoru Local-Level Government.
Minister Maru said the project is part of the Yangoru-Saussia DDA’s rural electrification program, which aims to expand electricity access to people living in rural areas of the district.
“This is part of the Yangoru-Saussia DDA’s rural electrification program to provide electricity to all our rural population, and the project is expected to be completed by December, towards the end of this year,” he said.