By Katalina Siasau
Power cuts affecting areas across Tongatapu at night are expected to continue this week while Tonga Power's third generator is undergoing maintenance. Recent overnight outages were caused by three generators failing between 19-22 April.
After one diesel generator failed on Sunday 19 April, another failed early on Monday 20 April, and a third generator failed early on Wednesday 22 April.
Tonga Power Limited stated that without sufficient power, they implemented controlled, rotational load shedding across different areas in Tongatapu.
The Chairman of the Tonga Power Board of Directors, Mr. Tsutomu Nakau, said in a media briefing that these power cuts were necessary to prevent a full system blackout.
He said renewable energy from PV in terms of solar supply and wind is not more than 32%.
When there is sufficient sunlight and wind, the renewable energy supply might prevent further power cuts for a day and load shedding may not be required.
“So that's what Tonga Power's been trying to achieve in terms of balancing the load. If we don't balance the load between the diesel and the intermittent supply of solar and wind, we will have power blackouts over the whole island.”
As of Thursday 23 April, two of the three diese generators had been repaired and the remaining unit was undergoing maintenance.
On 27 April, Tonga Power stated on Facebook that the maintenance had not yet been fully completed.
“As a result, load shedding may still be required from time to time, depending on electricity demand and available supply.”
They also provided a power cut scheduled seven areas in Tongatapu for 27 April.
Tonga Power Limited advises that generator repair works are still ongoing and have not yet been fully completed. As a result, load shedding may still be required from time to time, depending on electricity demand and available supply.
Below is the schedule for tonight if required:
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Night Time:
- Tokomololo to Kalaʻau
- Maui to Haʻatafu
- Queen Salote College to Tofoa (Stand by)
"Renewable energy (solar and wind) continues to support supply, however, output depends on weather conditions and may vary."
Tonga Power advised the public to use electricity efficiently:
- Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms
- Switch off air conditioning in unused spaces
- Disconnect non-essential appliances
- Minimize use of high-load equipment during peak hours
