El Nino affects power supply

The Sirinumu Dam is now at 53 percent as El Nino continues to worsen putting pressure on water and electricity supply in Port Moresby.

PNG Power Limited Chief Executive Officer, Paul Bayly said this follows the continuous load shedding that is happening in the city.

“More than half of our electricity generation supplied to Port Moresby and the Central province normally comes from hydroelectric generation.  Sirinumu Dam is currently at 53% capacity.

"PNG power and Water PNG have already implemented measures to limit the water releases and to protect the essential water supply." Bayly said.

Bayly explains that reduced power releases have cut generation at the Rouna hydro stations from 40 MW to 24 MW, a 40% drop.

“Reduced water releases have lowered output from Rouna hydro stations from 40 MW capacity to 24 MW today.

“That's a reduction of 40%. Edevu hydro power station, which relies on the Brown River, has also reduced its generation from about 56 MW to 14 MW today. That's a reduction of 75%.

“Together, these sharp reductions demonstrate the severe impact that El Nino is having." He said.

He highlighted the steps of which P&G Power will take to ensure available power generation.

“PNG Power is also taking immediate steps to stabilize the grid and to increase available generation.

New Power has 56 MW of capacity while Durio has 45 MW of capacity.

However, current transmission limitations restrict the amount that can be delivered from Durio to just 30 MW. The PNG Power CEO says the sub-decline in hydro generation shows the serious impact of El Nino on electricity supply and the reliability of the Port Moresby grid.