Tuvalu has stabilised its electricity supply but is rushing temporary measures and longer-term procurement after an emergency that saw island-wide blackouts, Transport and Energy Minister Simon Kofe said on Monday.
Kofe told reporters that recent outages were caused by network faults rather than failures of the diesel generators, which he said “are operating well.” To guard against further disruption, an Asian Development Bank-funded rental generator is due to arrive on 28 May and will provide backup for an estimated three to six months while permanent units are sourced. Technical advisers are already on Funafuti, he added, and formal procurement for permanent backup generators is expected to begin in early May.
International partners have moved into supporting both the immediate technical response and longer-term resilience. The Government of Japan is exploring sending a Daihatsu specialist to assist technicians at the Tuvalu Electricity Corporation (TEC), and Australia has committed technical advisers to help strengthen TEC’s financial and operational systems. Public Works and ICT teams are working alongside TEC to shore up infrastructure and system security, Kofe said.
Efforts to integrate more solar into the grid have also progressed. Kofe reported that earlier compatibility issues between older generators and new solar and battery systems have been resolved, including repairs to communication cabling that now allow battery-stored solar power to support generation. Those fixes are part of the wider technical work under way on the ground.
The government is also targeting social impacts of the power emergency. The Department of Energy and the Red Cross are jointly surveying households to identify those eligible for hardship assistance during the emergency period. Fuel supply for the islands remains steady for now, with the next tanker scheduled to arrive on 13 May, and Canberra is supporting moves to increase local fuel storage capacity to reduce vulnerability to future supply shocks.
The update comes as a 14-day State of Emergency declared during the power crisis comes to an end. Kofe framed the package of measures — rental backup, incoming specialist support, procurement of permanent generators, technical assistance and household surveys — as a bridge from emergency response to improved resilience. The ADB-backed rental unit and international technical inputs aim to give Tuvalu breathing space while longer-term solutions are finalised.