Energy Fiji Ltd (EFL) has mobilised crews to restore electricity across Viti Levu after Tropical Cyclone Vaianu damaged a key 132kV transmission line between Wailoa and Cunningham, triggering widespread outages in the Central Division, the company said in an update Wednesday.
EFL chief executive Fatiaki Gibson told reporters repair teams began work at first light and were operating around the clock in challenging conditions. The utility is targeting completion of the restoration work by Thursday, April 9. Until full repairs are completed, EFL has put in place temporary power rationing that will see rolling blackouts of about two to three hours to manage limited supply while crews isolate and repair damaged infrastructure.
The faulted 132kV line between Wailoa and Cunningham is a primary transmission corridor for the Central Division. Its damage forced the operator to de-energise sections of the network to prevent further faults and allow safe access for repair crews. Gibson said EFL will only re-energise circuits that have been inspected and declared healthy, underlining safety as the priority during the restoration process.
Gibson acknowledged assistance from large commercial and industrial users who have switched to onsite backup generators, a move EFL says has helped reduce immediate grid demand and eased the load on restoration operations. “Until then, we have implemented temporary power rationing with rolling blackouts of 2–3 hours,” he said, and thanked those customers for their cooperation.
Crews are contending with difficult terrain as they work to make repairs, EFL said, and customers across the Central Division should expect intermittent power until the transmission line is fully restored and tested. The company urged patience from communities affected by the outages and said it would prioritise the safe restoration of supply to healthy circuits first.
This development follows the passage of Tropical Cyclone Vaianu, which caused damage across parts of Viti Levu. With an expected completion date set for April 9, EFL’s latest update provides the most concrete timeline yet for the return of stable power to the Central Division, while emphasising safety and staged reactivation of the network as the repair work continues.
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