Tuvalu has stabilised its electricity supply but is moving quickly to shore up reserves after a two-week emergency, with a rental generator funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) due to arrive on 28 May to provide short-term backup while permanent replacements are procured, Transport and Energy Minister Simon Kofe said on Monday.
Kofe told reporters that the electricity system is currently holding up and that recent blackouts were caused by network faults rather than generation failures. “Generators are operating well. Recent blackouts were due to network issues, not generator faults,” he said, while confirming that temporary measures are being rushed in to reduce the risk of wider outages as the country transitions out of the 14-day State of Emergency this week.
The ADB-funded rental generator is expected to serve as an interim supply for three to six months, giving authorities time to complete procurement of new permanent units. Kofe said bids for permanent backup generators are expected in early May and technical teams are already on the ground working through specifications and installation planning. He added that parts of the integration work have moved forward: a communication cable fault on the battery system has been fixed, enabling solar generation to play a greater role alongside diesel units.
International partners are lining up targeted assistance. The Government of Japan is exploring support to send a Daihatsu specialist to work directly with technicians at the Tuvalu Electricity Corporation (TEC) on existing generator maintenance and optimisation. Australia is providing technical advisers to assist TEC with strengthening financial systems and accounts, an element Kofe said is critical for long-term operational resilience and procurement transparency.
Fuel logistics, a recurring vulnerability for the small atoll nation, are stable in the near term: the next tanker delivery is scheduled for 13 May, Kofe said. He also reported efforts to boost local fuel storage capacity with Australian assistance to reduce the chances of future supply disruptions. The Public Works Department and local ICT teams are working alongside TEC on infrastructure and system security upgrades to reduce the risk of network-related outages.
Social support measures are being organised for households affected during the emergency. The Department of Energy, together with the Red Cross, is conducting a survey to identify those eligible for hardship assistance once the emergency measures end. Kofe framed the rental generator and incoming technical support as a necessary bridge to a more resilient, increasingly renewable-integrated power system, noting that solar integration has improved as compatibility issues with older generators are addressed.
In a separate Pacific update carried in the same bulletin, Palau’s former leader and business pioneer Surangel Whipps Senior has died aged 86. The PACNEWS digest listed his passing among regional headlines but provided no further details in the Tuvalu-focused briefing.