Dirio to Light up Port Moresby
The newest private power plant, Dirio Gas & Power project in Central province, should boost the electricity supply to the city of Port Moresby after it was launched just recently.
It was officially opened on Thursday 19th of November by Prime Minister (PM) James Marape, to start generating electricity using gas supplied from the PNG LNG project.
The plant will generate 45 megawatts (MW) of power that will be supplied to the city’s power grid at a rate of 37 toea per kilowatt, which will then be distributed by PNG Power Ltd as per the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the two companies.
Hela Governor, Philip Undialu, hopes that from this major achievement, the developers of the PNG LNG project will now have great confidence in the resource landowners in getting into other major business projects in the future.
“We have 20 years of power supply contract with PNG Power and almost 25 years of gas supply from ExxonMobil PNG, so your investment is not wasted,” he said.
“Welcome you all to the class of corporate world, we are no longer the bystanders, rent collectors and royalty collectors.”
He also thanked everyone involved including the National Government, for getting this massive project off the ground for the landowners. The idea to invest in the electricity business was coined back in 2018 when the project’s initial stages also started.
Meanwhile, PNG Power Ltd has been urged to put together a formular that should see residents and business houses in Port Moresby pay less for electricity supply.
PM Marape said with Dirio coming online and Niu Power already producing electricity, plus the hydro power generation coupled with other private power producers generating electricity, means over 103 megawatts of power is now supplied to the city, which is an oversupply of electricity, and this should see a reduction in the cost of sale of electrical energy to PNG Power.
“I want all our manufacturing plants in Port Moresby to have excess to cheap power. PNG Power you now have first opportunity with half the cost of power being passed to you, I want this to be passed on to customers and customers to enjoy cheap power in Port Moresby,” said the PM.
The Dirio project proposed to supply Port Moresby with 45 MW of power using natural gas purchased from the PNG LNG Project. The plant will operate three 15 MW Titan Solar turbines, producing the total energy capacity of 45 MW.
The landowner company signed the PPA with PNG Power in September 2019, agreeing to supply electricity at a price lower than other third-party suppliers. Dirio aims to deliver cheaper power, making electricity more affordable.
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