NZ grants $1.7 million to rebuild Ha'apai electricity network [1]
Sunday, February 2, 2014 - 17:38
Tonga Power linesmen installing power poles at Pangai, Ha‘apai. 28 January 2014
New Zealand frant funding of NZ$1.7 million was signed in Nuku'alofa on January 29 as part of a package to rebuild the electricity network in Ha’apai destroyed by Tropical Cyclone Ian.
The New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga, HE Mr Mark Talbot ,and the Acting Prime Minister Hon Samiu Vaipulu, signed the grant funding from the New Zealand Government that will assist Tonga Power Ltd. in Ha‘apai.
The funding would be spent on mobilising equipment and procuring materials required to repair and restore power distribution to 11 villages on Lifuka and Foa. In addition, six Northpower linesmen from New Zealand will assist with the repair works to help speed up the network reconstruction.
Tonga Power CEO John van Brink said the directors, management and their staff were grateful for the grant provided generously by the Government of New Zealand.
He said the speed in which the New Zealand High Commissioner and his team had responded and the trust placed in them to perform, has helped them firm up their restoration program and get power back to their customers quickly.
“Through signing the agreement it secures Tonga Power’s effort to re-supply safe, reliable and affordable electricity to the village households and businesses in northern Ha’apai island group following the cyclone. Our thanks to Northpower, they have helped cut through large amounts of red tape, to get us in a position of being able to bring the line staff over here to help us out, and we acknowledge the vital support of the Prime Minister and Deputy PM, without whom we would still be struggling to seek help,” he said.
The funding was made under NZAid's Tonga Bilateral Program.
Power-up
Tonga Power has restored power to over 180 customers in Pangai with work progressing to deliver power to the villages and bring back normalcy to the people of Ha’apai. It has erected poles, re-run services, reinstalled primary wire and changed out transformers in the islands.
The crew livened the HV lines to Lotofoa and started livening households that were safe to connect and install transformers up towards Ha’ateiho Si’i.
They expected that other villages would be livened as work progresses to rebuild lines and replace damaged power poles. The Ha’apai High School HV line has been completed and livened including the airport and MET Service, with LED street lights installed at Pangai.