From September 25th to 28th, Mana Pacific’s CEO Joe Reed and Chief Engineer Logan Weber were in Saipan for the 30th Annual Pacific Power Association (PPA) Conference. The PPA Conference offers its attendees an assortment of speeches, presentations from donors and technical providers, as well as a workshop for all Utility Board Members and a Trade Exhibition of products and services provided by the PPA’s Allied Members. This year’s focus on financial and technological preparedness for renewable and resilient power networks aligned with Mana Pacific’s work developing and accelerating renewable energy in the Pacific.
The PPA Conference is the largest energy conference in the Pacific, and it has only grown in attendance each year. The PPA has a current membership of 25 electricity utilities operating in the 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories, as well as 85 Allied Members worldwide with an interest in supporting energy development in the Pacific.
Originally established in 1992, the PPA is an inter-governmental agency and member of the Council of Regional Organizations in the Pacific (CROP) with a mission of advancing cooperation between the Pacific Island electricity utilities. This direct cooperation revolves around technical training, information exchange, senior management sharing, engineering expertise, and other activities. Through this coordination, the objective is to improve the quality of power provision in the Pacific region.
The cooperation between utility members in the PPA is strengthened by regional donors as well as private sector partners like Mana Pacific. Being invited as a private sector representative at this year’s conference was an honor for Mana Pacific, and demonstrates their commitment to engaging with the region and understanding the challenges and perspectives of every utility. It was a pleasure for their team to attend and collaborate with all Pacific utility members of the PPA, as well as meet with its Executive Director, Mr. Andrew Daka, representing the Solomon Islands. The Mana Pacific team expresses its gratitude to Saipan and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for hosting, and they are looking forward to participating again next year.
