By Staff Reporter

PNG has K14 billion energy investment potential

3/6/2023

THE PNG energy sector has a US$4 billion (about K14.3 billion) investment potential, according to the USAID PNG Electrification Partnership (PEP).
Chief of Party Bruce Corbet told the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry meeting in Port Moresby yesterday that they continued to provide technical support to the sector.
The USAID-PEP is a five-year project partnership with the Government to help the country become self-reliant by contributing to achieve the goal of connecting electricity to 70 per cent of the population by 2030.

“To accomplish this goal, USAID-PEP focuses on facilitating at least 220,000 new on and off-grid household electricity connections, and institutionalisong key strategies that will enable PNG achieve such target by the end of the USAID-PEP,” he said
Corbet said energy sector challenges were familiar in the country.
“Challenging climate and environment, land access and cost-recovery tariffs, uncertain policy and regulatory environment, foreign currency exchange, insufficient public and private investment and dispersed and isolated populations,” he said.
Corbet said with the continuous work and studies, some of the electrification mode versus the investment potential (or capital expenditure) around the country included:

SOLAR home systems (fewer than 100 households per site) – US$ 0.4 billion (about K1.4 billion);
SMALL mini-grids (100 to 320 households per site) – US$ 0.4 billion (K1.4 billion);
LARGE mini-grids (more than 320 households per site) US$0.4 billion (K1.4 billion);
GRID extension (PNG Power Limited’s franchise area of 1 to 10 kilometer from existing grid) US$2.2 billion (K7.9 billion);
GRID densification (less than 1 km from existing grid) US$0.3 billion (K1.07 billion); and,
GRID connected generation capacity more than US$0.5 billion (K1.8 billion).

Statement/TheNational/PNGfacts