On 1 August, the Electric Power Corporation unveiled four new diesel generators, three placed at the Fuluasou substation and one in Savaii. The four generators cost $10.7 million.

Then on 21 October, a fault in the new diesel generator in Savaii disrupted the power supply to half of the island for more than an hour. That fault showed that the backup generators had a low capacity to supply the whole island leading to a blackout on the entire island to reset the system before it came back on.

It is hard to imagine that after the issue was brought to light, it took over two weeks to fix. It seems that the focus was on holding back the Electric Power Corporation engineers on Upolu as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was on. Attention was only given to Savaii after CHOGM had finished.

There have been reports that the EPC staff had been doing 24-hour shifts during CHOGM and then sent to Savaii to continue burning the midnight oil. The safety of workers in this field is very important as well.

The power situation went from bad to worse. Families have reported frequent outages have destroyed several appliances, including refrigerators, microwaves, hair straighteners, and electric frying pans.

Savaii residents criticised the government's lack of communication regarding the reasons for the frequent power outages, calling it “disappointing,” especially given that both the Minister and Associate Minister represent districts in Savai'i.

Residents questioned the engagement of local Members of Parliament, suggesting that they should advocate for these issues, given that they were elected by constituents who expect representation.

The biggest concern with the blackout was that the authorities also had a media blackout. The EPC boss Faumui Iese Toimoana has not answered a single call and has even chosen to block emails from this newspaper. This is concerning since Faumui has previously been open to questions and answered some tough questions.

It looks like that there is a directive from his line ministry and minister Olo Fiti Va’ai to not to talk to the media, especially the Samoa Observer. A good government keeps its citizens informed.

The situation in Savaii also represents a failure to commit to infrastructure work that needs to be prioritised. For the last two years, the important capital works that needed urgent attention were pushed back and CHOGM was given priority.

During discussions on the First Supplementary Budget for 2024-2025 earlier this year, MPs from Savai'i echoed these concerns, with Olo acknowledging the significant challenges posed by ageing infrastructure. He also revealed that the EPC. had resorted to hiring a generator from New Zealand, incurring a monthly cost of NZD$150,000 to mitigate these issues.

He further promised that they were working on fixing this problem by bringing in new generators. Only one was brought in. It is clear that Savaii needs more than one new generator.

This is also the right time to look at alternative power sources. A solar farm per village would eradicate a lot of problems. But this is a solution that requires proper planning including maintenance. That is something for future consideration.

Meanwhile, the hard work put in by the EPC staff to restore power to Savaii must be applauded. Tired after a week of duty, they strived to get power back to the people of Savaii.

With reports of electricity supply becoming normal, residents in Savaii also want to know who will compensate them for the damaged electrical equipment. Power to the people.