Ten powerlines workers and two support staff from Australia have joined forces with Tonga Power Ltd. to quickly restore power to homes and businesses on Tongatapu and ‘Eua. 

The extra help will ease the workload of Tonga Power staff who have been working tirelessly to get the electricity network up and running since Tropical Cyclone Gita struck Tongatapu and 'Eua last week.

The technicians, who arrived in Tonga on Wednesday, are from Australian energy companies, NJ Constructions, Essential Energy, Transgrid and Evoenergy. The team started working to repair power lines today and will be in Tonga for several weeks. A team from New Zealand is also assisting to fix this critical infrastructure.

Gita caused widespread damage to the electricity grid affecting approximately 50% and 15% of Tongatapu and ‘Eua’s network respectively. The cyclone left around 80% of homes without power. 

Since the cyclone however, power has been restored to essential services and Tonga Power has since been working on restoring power to homes and businesses. Yesterday Tonga Power estimated it would take up to four weeks to get the electricity network fully operational.