FUNAFUTI — Tuvalu’s government says the immediate power supply is stable but emphasised new short-term measures and international support as it moves to guard against future outages.
Transport and Energy Minister Simon Kofe told reporters on 27 April that recent blackouts were caused by distribution network faults rather than failures of generating units. “Generators are operating well. Recent blackouts were due to network issues, not generator faults,” he said, underlining that technical fixes to communications cabling between the battery system and solar arrays have allowed more reliable solar support to the grid.
The latest development is a rental generator, funded by the Asian Development Bank, due to arrive on 28 May. Kofe said the machine will act as a temporary backup for an estimated three to six months while the government completes procurement for permanent replacement units. Procurement processes are already under way, with bids for permanent backup generators expected to be lodged in early May.
Several partners are stepping up assistance. Kofe said the Government of Japan is exploring sending a Daihatsu specialist to work with the Tuvalu Electricity Corporation (TEC) on existing generator maintenance, while technical advisers from Australia will assist TEC with strengthening its financial systems and accounts. The Public Works Department and national ICT teams are also working with TEC to shore up infrastructure and system security.
Logistics and fuel security are being addressed in parallel. Tuvalu has a tanker shipment of fuel scheduled to arrive on 13 May, and Australia is supporting efforts to increase local fuel storage capacity to reduce vulnerability to future supply interruptions. Kofe noted these steps are part of a broader national readiness push as the 14-day state of emergency declared during the energy disruption comes to an end.
Social supports are being targeted for households hit hardest by the recent emergency. The Department of Energy and the Red Cross are carrying out a survey to identify households eligible for hardship assistance, Kofe said, signalling a move to ensure relief reaches vulnerable families while technical and procurement work continues.
The minister framed the rental generator and international assistance as bridging measures that will give technicians time to integrate renewable resources more consistently with diesel plants and batteries. With solar integration reportedly improved, the government says attention will now focus on long-term resilience by completing generator procurement and strengthening fuel, financial and operational systems at TEC. The arrival of the ADB-funded generator on 28 May will be the immediate test of that interim strategy.