Sola PayGo is a solar power company offering a pay-as-you-go system that is tackling the low levels of electrification in remote parts of Papua New Guinea. Adeshola Ore talks with Chief Executive Sundar Ramamurthy.

The company sells its solar power kits on roadshows in rural and remote areas. Credit: SolaPay Go

When Sundar Ramamurthy completed his role as Group CEO of Bmobile-Vodafone in mid-2017, he wanted to continue to use his technology skills and experience. His idea: to use technology to provide affordable power to rural areas of Papua New Guinea.

Only about 13 per cent of the country has access to reliable grid power and, hoping to tackle the low electrification problem, Ramamurthy developed Sola PayGo, a pay-as-you-go solar power company that targets rural PNG.

In remote parts of the country, low incomes and inadequate transmission infrastructure often prevent families and individuals accessing high-quality, reliable power. Sola PayGo’s finance system only requires customers to make a deposit, which normally ranges between K200 to K300, to access that power.

Solar power at home

Sola PayGo’s Sundar Ramamurthy

Sola PayGo’s self-installing power kits include: a solar panel, lithium battery, up to four lights, mobile phone charger, torch and radio (optional).

Once they have one of these kits installed, customers use an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)—a communication technology that is used to send data between a cell phone and an application program—in order to purchase tokens.

Making a minimum payment of K12 a week will provide seven days of lighting. A consistent payment record of 12 kina a week means the person will pay off the solar kit in just over 12 months.

Once paid in full, customers have the unit for free and can use it for the duration of the lithium battery, which will be another three years at least. Sola PayGo provides a two-year warranty on every kit.

‘People understand the concept of using the sun to charge a battery—you don’t have to explain to them what solar (power) is.’

The unit automatically locks if the payment before the deadline is not made.

‘I thought if we could scale this product and provide lights and mobile phone charging to remote areas, we could help people get a lot of things done that they normally can’t do,’ Ramamurthy tells Business Advantage PNG.

In May this year, the company announced a payment partnership with Bank South Pacific (BSP). Customers who already have BSP Mobile Banking can use mobile banking to pay the deposit and purchase a token.

Bringing power to rural areas

While solar energy has been in PNG for almost 40 years, many people living in remote communities have not previously enjoyed the affordability that comes with the Sola PayGo’s kit.

The company sells the kits on roadshows in remote communities in Central Province and the Highlands areas.

‘People understand the concept of using the sun to charge a battery—you don’t have to explain to them what solar (power) is. It’s just they have never had access to a product that is so high quality and lasts such a long time,’ says Ramamurthy.

‘We all need to do our bit at becoming environmentally responsible and, until electrification reaches these guys, then the only options they have are kerosene and wood—both put out fumes into the air.’

‘Kids can study until late at night. Before the Sola PayGo kit, they only had candles and firewood, which are very hard to read in.

‘Other people use it because, at night time, they don’t want to step on snakes or have people stealing food from their garden.’

A solution to a health problem

Sola PayGo solar power kit.

The solar panel kits also offer consumers an environmentally and health-friendly alternative.

‘We all need to do our bit at becoming environmentally responsible and until electrification reaches these guys then the only options they have are kerosene and wood—both put out fumes into the air,’ explains Ramamurthy.

‘Those toxic fumes swirl around inside the house, which causes lung and eyesight problems, plus a host of associated health issues which in turn puts a burden on the health service sector.’

Since the pilot launch in February 2018, the company has sold its solar kit to over 1,300 homes. Ramamurthy says while the numbers are small compared to the overall market’s size, he’s interested in expanding his business to Bougainville.

‘We’re now in a position where we are accelerating growth,’ says Ramamurthy.