Electricity Access Challenges and Opportunities in Papua New Guinea
(PNG)
Asia Pacific Solar Research ConferenceCanberra Rex Hotel 3-5th December 2019
Manu RawaliAnna Bruce, Atul Raturi, Brian Spak, Iain MacGill
Electrification Situation• PNG ranked 46 lowest in GDP per capita and 36 lowest
on the HDI.– Poverty rate of almost 40%
• 10-15% connected to grid (including diesel-minigrids)• 50-60% access when including less than 11 W solar
pico lighting products • limited published literature about the electrification
situation• GoPNG Targets: 70% access by 2030
– 100 % renewable electricity by 2050 (Vision 2050)– 100 % renewable electricity by 2030 (INDC)
DHI-Human Development Index INDC-Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
Electrification Situation• Electricity Sector Managed by Dept. of ICT&Energy
through the – EIP(2011)-70% electrification target – NEP(2018) –overarching policy that promotes the
National Electrification Roll-Out Plan (NEROP) • Regulated by ICCC through the – ICCC(2002) Act: Tariff Setting– EIA(2002) Act: Exclusive rights to PNG Power (PPL)
• Government-owned utility(PPL), run the 3 main grids and all 29 loss making diesel mini grids.– Currently a country-wide load shedding exercise
EIA-Electricity Industry Act, EIP2011-Electricity Industry Policy, NEP2018-National Energy Policy ICCC-Independent Consumer and Competition Commission
Electrification Situation
580 MW Installed Capacity : PPL manages 300 MW and 280 MW Captive Power : 40 % Hydro, 37 % Diesel, 14 % Gas, 9% Geothermal
Source: NEROP
Least-cost Electrification Plan
• NEROP: 76% grid extension and 24% diesel mini-grid
• PJP: Mostly offgrid options (mini-grids & standalone) utilising renewables is more cheaper
Source: NEROP PJP-Port Jackson & Partners
Energy ResourcesResource Reserves/Potential Contribution to Electricity SectorCrude Oil Estimated 2P reserve of about 253 million
barrels as of 2018Very limited
Natural Gas Estimated 2P reserve of about 6,742 billion cubic feet as of 2018
83 MW of Gas fired power plants connecting to Port Moresby Grid (and more planned.
Hydro No detailed study but, approximately 15,000-20,000 MW
• 230 MW worth of power plants connecting to the 3 major grids
• 136 MW Hydro Projects under development - World Bank and ADB currently developing 86 MW (Divune 3MW, Ramazon 3MW and Naoro-Brown-80MW), plus privately developed Edevevu-51MW
Geothermal No detailed study, but the Geothermal Energy Association estimates PNG’s geothermal potential at 21.9 TWh
54 MW Geothermal power plant on Lihir
Bioenergy No detailed study, but major potential with growing commercial agriculture industry and low population density
• 3 MW methane biogas power-plant in one of NBPOL’s palm oil mill
• PNG Biomass currently constructing a 30 MW biopower plant utilising fast-growing eucalyptus trees, and will be fed into the Ramu grid
Wind Good wind resource near Port Moresby and Lae. Currently three 80-metre masts measuring the resource
Very limited
Solar 4.5 ~ 8 sunlight hours daily
Not much ground-based monitoring.
• Utilised with the fast-growing solar pico-lighting products
• Currently no grid-connected systems exist, although two (227 kW (Sunergise) and 100 kW) systems have been installed but not successfully synchronised to the grid.
Barriers• Governance: Lack Political Will• Limited Capacity• Rugged Terrain and Sparsely distributed
population• Finance and Affordability• Law & Order and Land Tenure Challenges
Opportunities for Solar PV
Discussion and Conclusion• Direct government support
– Effective Planning– Support PPL
• Policies identify best practices but have not been implemented
• Independent Regulator• NEROP needs to be revisited
– We probably don’t need a country-wide national grid– Take lead in distributive systems
• Education and awareness of usefulness of electricity and associated technologies, and financial literacy
• Solar PV looks promising but needs support• Electrification Partnership
