Pacific islands struggle to access basic services [1]
Wednesday, July 25, 2018 - 22:40
Pacific Islands are way behind the rest of the world with regards to public accessibility to basic utilities such as Water, Sanitation and Electricity, according to the Asian Development Bank’s July 2018 Pacific Economic Monitor.
As a region the statistics are alarming, but among the 15 islands countries that the Pacific Economic Monitor covered, some did better than others.
Water services
According to their data, while 88.5% of the world has access to water, only 52.6% of the people of the Pacific Islands have access to water, with Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste having the poorest access, while seven of the countries including Tonga, have almost universal access to water services, where more than 95% of the poulation can have access to safe water services.
With sanitation, while 68% of the world have access to clean drinking water and adequate sewage disposal, only 30% of the Pacific Islands have access to clean drinking water, and an adequate sewage disposal.
Electricity services
With electricity, in some regions of the Pacific only 33% of the people have access to electricity, comparing with 87.4% of the world. Solomon Islands, PNG and Vanuatu and Timor Leste average 36% between them. Once again the development is uneven and in eight of the countries, including Tonga, some 90 percent of households have access to electricity, while the overall average for the 15 countries is 75%.
The big differences in the degrees of access across sectors and among Pacific economies highlights the hindrances faced by utilities in improving the quality and the reach of their service. “these include weak institutional capacity and financial management, and lack of planning, coordination, and policy support.”
Having access to basic utilities according to PEM, “is both a human right and fundamental to upholding human rightsThe PEM however pointed out that more innovation; better planning and targeting; and greater cooperation between governments, citizens, and development partners are needed to improve the situation.
Meanwhile, an average of 69% of the population in 15 Pacific countries have access to improved sanitation. Unlike access to improved water sources, access to sanitation service varies realty across countries. While all of Niue and Palau have universal access to sanitation services, only 19% of the population in PNG and 29% of Solomon Islands have access. Only 5 countries have at least 90% of their respective populations with access to sanitation services, while the proportion is only 60%, at most, in six countries.
Meanwhile a series of investment is underway in the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga to achieve their shared vision of generating most of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the next decade.
Tonga
In Tonga, 89% of households have access to electricity nationwide (97% in urban areas). Over 95% of electricity in Tonga was generated using imported diesel fuel. In 2012 (the latest year with complete figures), an estimated 15 million liters of diesel were consumed to generate electricity at a cost equivalent to approximately 10% of GDP and 15% of national imports.
Tonga Power Ltd, a State Owned Enterprise operates four independent grids for electricity services on Tongatapu, Vava’u, Ha’apai and ‘Eua where TPL generates, distributes, and retails electricity.
Tonga’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change includes a target that by 2020, 50% of all electricity to be generated will be sourced from renewables.
Since 2010, the government and TPL, with the support of development partners, have focused on many outer islands. Outer island renewable energy investments are guided by Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM) 2010–2020.
The first phase of TERM (2014–2019) involves (i) installing solar power systems, including some smart meters on nine outer islands; (ii) transferring operation and maintenance knowledge, and (iii) rehabilitating the existing grid network near the solar power generation systems on the islands of ‘Eua and Vava’u.
The second phase of TERM (2017–2019) includes a pilot solar farm to be funded and built by an independent power producer, and utility-scale wind farms to be funded by bilateral partners.
The third, and final, phase of TERM (2018–2020) will see two small-scale solar plants coupled with battery energy storage systems constructed in ‘Eua and Vava’u. This will enable increased integration of intermittent renewable energy (solar and wind) to be developed by the private sector on Tongatapu (the largest demand center).
By 2030, 70% of all electricity is targeted to be generated from renewables.
The government and TPL have no plan to install any new diesel generators after 2020.