Shoreline takes over power distribution [1]
Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 11:00. Updated on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 13:56.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 1, May 2002.
Shoreline became a household name overnight throughout Tongatapu, Ha‘apai and ‘Eua when it took over the generation and the distribution of electricity from the Tonga Electric Power Board at the beginning of February.
The rapid change over came as a shock to some people, particularly the employees of the TEPB, who lost their jobs when Shoreline announced it would operate with a much smaller organisation.
With the consumers there was a mixed feeling. In Tongatapu the service record of the TEPB was nothing to boast about, a surcharge of $5 per month was a sore point, and power cuts were a constant reality.
When Shoreline took over with a promise of a better service and cheaper power, the general feeling was to wait and see. People did not have to wait very long, because almost immediately power cuts became an every day occurrence, there was confusion as to whom and where to complain and the new billing system was difficult for a lot of people to understand.
Uphill battle
The fact that there was a new owner, introducing a new system, but using the existing wiring network and trying to keep the promise of a better and a cheaper service with fewer employees looked as though it was going to be an uphill battle.
‘Emeline Tuita of Shoreline said that the people who were dissatisfied with the service of Shoreline ”do not understand that when the accounts and the power distribution system were transferred from the TEPB to Shoreline it had a lot of problems. ”
‘Emeline said that before Shoreline started distributing electricity it had to upgrade the existing network which was in a very poor state comparing to the international standards used in Australia and New Zealand. “To apply the same network system that is used in Australia and New Zealand it meant the complete shut down of electricity in certain areas to ensure the safety of the workers and the people of that area.”
‘Emeline said that the frequent power cuts in certain areas happened because Shoreline was doing damage control work to the power lines in that area.,“announcing power cuts, to completely repair poor power lines in that area.,” she said.
“People who are dissatisfied with Shoreline‘s work do not understand that we are aiming at upgrading their power supply and making it more affordable for them as well.”
With regards to new power charges, ‘Emeline said that Shoreline was deducting 5% from bills which were paid within 21 days,. “People who exceed to 31 days will not be entitled to a 5% discount and will be given an additional 3% penalty to their bills. The main reason we are doing this is to make people pay their bills on time,” ‘Emeline said.