WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

5.2.3 Papua New Guinea
Lara Esser, International Center on Small Hydro Power
Key facts
Population 6,310,129 1
Area 462,840 km 2
Climate Tropical; northwest monsoon
(December to March), southeast
monsoon (May to October); slight
seasonal temperature variation 1
Topography Over 600 islands, immense physical
variety and various types, e.g. alluvial,
continental, coral, raised coral and
volcanic. Mostly mountainous islands
with coastal lowlands and rolling
foothills 1
Rain pattern On the mainland, mean annual rainfall
ranges from less than 2,000 mm to
8,000 mm in some mountainous
areas. 2
Electricity sector overview
Papua New Guinea Power (PNG Power) is responsible
for the generation, transmission and distribution of
electricity throughout the country. Papua New Guinea
Power operates three main interconnected systems,
namely Port Moresby, Ramu (Lae-Madang-Goroka-
Mount Hagen) and the Gazelle Peninsula, which are
mainly based on fossil fuels (figure 1). It also runs 19
other smaller provincial systems. There are
approximately a hundred small rural supply systems
called C-centres – the number varies depending on
the source – at the government administration
centres, electrified through isolated diesel, small
hydropower and occasionally photovoltaic (PV)
Geothermal
11%
Gas
16%
Hydro
25%
Oil
48%
systems. 1
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Figure 1 Electricity generation in Papua New Guinea
Source: Clean Energy Portal 3
Rural electrification policy guidelines were developed
in 1993 to address a number of issues, including the
low rural electrification rate (under 10 per cent of
households), high costs and high government
subsidies to C-centres, exorbitant costs of grid
connections and the relative effectiveness of
electrification at religious mission’s stations compared
to government initiatives. The guidelines advocated
decentralized diesel or petrol generators, micro- and
mini-hydropower systems where feasible, and PV. A
2001 draft of the National Rural Electrification Policy
noted that rural electrification was a national priority
under the government’s development strategy and
structural adjustment programme.
The Government has begun the process of preparing a
National Electricity Policy, which will focus on private
sector participation and competition, particularly in
generation activities and rural electrification. 3 The
Electricity Industry Policy was adopted in December
2011; its key elements focus on attracting the private
sector to contribute to new power generation
facilities, increasing movement towards cost-reflective
pricing and transferring the regulation of the sector
to the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE). 4
Small hydropower sector overview and potential
There are currently nine small-, mini- and microhydropower
plants in operation, with a total capacity
of 20.2 MW. Several projects are in the phase of
planning. The small hydropower potential has been
estimated at about 153 MW, covering more than 79
schemes (figure 2). 5
SHP installed capacity
SHP potential
20.2 MW
0 50 100 150
153 MW
Figure 2 Small hydropower capacities in Papua New
Guinea
ELCOM (now Papua New Guinea Power) carried out
numerous feasibility studies to replace small diesel
systems with small hydropower in the 1980s to 1990s,
but none were developed due to high costs.
The Energy Division of Department of Minerals
and Energy (DME) had assessed 45 potential hydro
sites near C-centres by 1987, completed 14 feasibility
studies and commissioned three small hydropower
systems (capacities ranging between 60 kW and
300 kW) by 1992. Apparently none have been
constructed since then. Church missions, NGOs and
community organizations have built a number of small
hydropower systems but documentation is imprecise.
The Pacific Islands Renewable Energy Project (PIREP)
mission estimates that there may have been as many
as 200 single household size pico-, micro- and minihydropower
systems installed in rural Papua New
Guinea between 1960 and 2004, of which perhaps 20-
25 per cent are still functioning, about 20 to 25
systems on Bougainville and roughly the same number
throughout the rest of Papua New Guinea. Many
more are planned if funding can be found. 2
A 1985 New Zealand Aid (NZAID) supported a DME
assessment of mini-hydro potential near to 110 load
centres in 17 provinces. Investigations were carried
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