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| Jonathan Kings (Deputy Secretary – New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Hon. Gerry Brownlee (New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Hon. Poasi Tei (Minister of Public Enterprises), Carl Sanft (Chairman – Combined Utility Board), HE Sarah Walsh (New High Commissioner to Tonga), Robert Matthews (CEO – Tonga Power Ltd), Tonga Power staff and members from ‘Alaki Village. |
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| In his short visit to Tonga, Foreign Affairs Minister Gerry Brownlee took time to visit the Tonga Village Network Upgrade Project at ‘Alaki. |
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| His visit to Tonga provides Hon. Brownlee with the opportunity to build on the strong bilateral relationship between Tonga and New Zealand which included discussions on New Zealand’s assistance to Tonga in the areas of energy, policing, justice and education. |
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| Honourable Brown Lee visited the village of ‘Alaki, one of the 33 villages in Tongatapu with approximately 95 households connected to the network where the Tonga Village Network Upgrade Project is currently underway. |
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| Simon Wilson, TPL Major Projects Manager gave the Minister, Her Excellency Sarah Walsh and delegates an update on the progress of the project and plans for the future. |
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| Minister Brown Lee said, “I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Tonga Village Network Upgrade Project in action and I am proud of New Zealand’s role in this essential sector”. |
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| “A reliable electricity network will not only make daily life easier for communities but will also lead to a more solid foundation to allow Tonga to build its regional economy”, he added. |
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| The Project |
| The project is a five year implementation programme that is split into three stages. Stage one of the project started in June 2011 and completed in August 2013. This involved the upgrading of low voltage networks and service connections to 17 villages of which 2400 customers were connected to the grid with many being connected for the first time. Stages two and three of the project is being implemented and is expected to be completed in April 2018. |
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| Additional to the network upgrade and free connections to new customers, 3000 prepay meters have been installed focussing on customers that are vulnerable to financial constraints. |
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| Objective |
| The main objective of the project is to provide an environment for sustainable economic growth by improving electricity accessibility, reliability and safety to the distribution network across rural villages in Tongatapu. |
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| Impact |
| Simon said that the line losses for the completed villages has dropped from 21% down to 6% against the project target of 5% and the line loss is expected to fall even lower once the project is completed. |
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| “We are very pleased to be able to tell you that 22 out of the 33 villages in Tongatapu have had their electricity network upgraded within the project”. |
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| The project has connected 6252 homes to the electricity network of which 1354 are new connections. This brings the total of new connections to 27%, exceeding the project target of 20%. |
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| Funding |
| The Tonga Village Network Upgrade Project is New Zealand’s largest investment throughout the Pacific Region in the energy sector totalling to NZ$27.7 million Grand Aid through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. |
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