Cyclone Ian Recovery Project

         
       About the Project  
     
 
      Severe weather is the single leading cause of wide spread power outage in Tonga particularly during the cyclone season. In January 2014, a major power outage following Tropical Cyclone Ian left households in Ha’apai Island without power for weeks.  
The resilience of the electric grid is a key part of Tonga’s defense against severe weather, making it less vulnerable to weather-related outages and reducing the time it takes to restore power after a natural disaster. Over the years, the weather conditions on Tonga ranked the Kingdom second globally in terms of disasters caused by natural hazards

This lead to the key objective of the Cyclone Ian Recovery Project to reconstruct and climate and disaster proof the electricity network which was damaged by Cyclone Ian on the Ha’apai Island Group. The reconstruction and climate and disaster proofing of the HV and LV network including the service line in Ha’apai will result in a more robust electricity distribution service to the people of Ha’apai
 		  
     
 
       Project Funding  
     
 
      The Asian Development Bank granted a total of USD$4.52 million from its Disaster Response Facility to assist the Government of Tonga with the reconstruction and climate and disaster proofing the electricity network and school facilities that were damaged by Cyclone Ian in January 2014. Of this contribution, USD$2.7 million have been allocated to the restoration of the electricity network.  
      The Government of New Zealand is correspondingly providing NZD$4.27 million towards this very same project for the reconstruction and climate-and disaster proofing of school facilities in Ha’apai. In addition, the Government of Tonga is also providing an in-kind contribution, and Tonga Power is contributing towards the management and administration of the project.  The total Tongan contribution is TOP$1.67 million.  
         
     
 
       Project Impact  
     
 
      The reconstruction and climate disaster proofing of the electricity network will ensure a more climate and disaster robust electricity service for the people of Ha’apai. Restore access to an electricity supply network that is more resilient to extreme weather events and disasters  
         
     
 
      Project Outcome  
     
 
      The outcome will be restoration of electricity supply on Ha’apai and restore access to an electricity supply network that is more resilient to extreme weather events and other natural disasters.

The project will incorporate the reconstruction and upgrading of the power distribution network from 6.6kV to 11kV, including the reconstruction of 15.2 km of high voltage overhead bundle lines, construction of 32 km of low voltage lines and underground connection of approximately 1000 households and 30 commercial and government buildings that are connected to Tonga Power’s network. The works also consists of restoring and climate proofing approximately 161 street lights, purchase temporary solar lanterns and community solar chargers to approximately 100 households in the outer islands of Ha’apai.		  
         
     
 
      Project Program  
     
 
         -  Install over 500 LV Poles
   -  String over 32km of LV Cable
   -  Install over 240 HV Poles
   -  Install over 20 Transformers
   -  String over 15km HV Cable
   -  Install over 1,000 customer connections		  
         
     
 
       Project Timeline  
     
 
      The project will be implemented over the next two and a half years  
         
     
 
      Project Implementation  
     
 
      Tonga Power Ltd and the Ministry of Infrastructure are the implementing agencies for the Reconstruction and Climate Proofing of Electricity Network.
 		  
         
         

Our Principle

TPL values people and the environment, Tonga Power run the business as if it`s our own, think differently, deliver swiftly and capture the value, and strive to succeed as a team and as an individual.