The power outages in the last week have a story to tell. They talk about the failing power network caused by overload and failure to meet the power demand.

While the Electric Power Corporation had a schedule for power rationing, there were areas left without power and without notice on Thursday and Friday. Some areas such as Vaitele endured a power outage for more than 12 hours. What has gone wrong?  

We had areas in Upolu affected by unplanned power outages as businesses and schools closed early. The Electric Power Corporation said this was because of a strain on electricity generation.

The low water levels at the hydro dams and the inability of the solar systems to meet the demand have been raised as the issue. This means a shift in the power rationing schedule.

This caused several unscheduled power disruptions affecting thousands of households.

A sequence of unscheduled power outages on Thursday was attributed to low power generation from solar and hydro sources and faults at one of the key diesel generators.

According to EPC, the insufficient power generation was unable to meet the high demand and led to disconnection in East Coast Feeder and Industrial Feeder in addition to two high voltage lines that have been without power since Thursday morning, the Lefaga and Palisi Feeder.

Due to the noticeable decrease in the electricity supply available for distribution, the EPC said there would be an adjustment to the power rationing schedule for certain dates.

The adjustment includes the activation of a standby feeder each evening to assist with power distribution.

It seems that the strain on the current network has affected other machinery needed to produce the energy. While the EPC says that power should be restored by 15 April, the demand on the current machinery seems to be taking its toll. Power generation is not a simple task. We have now found out that the hydropower scheme and the solar power arrangements are not working. This calls for an audit on the people who duped the nation into believing that this was the way forward.

Now we have the EPC coming forward and admitting that the low water levels and the inability of the solar farms are impacting the power grid. This was a fact that people had known before but the EPC had never revealed before that the renewable energy schemes have not been working. Instead, the EPC and the ministry responsible had been telling the nation that 35 per cent of the nation’s energy output has been from renewable energy sources.

This has been a lie and we are now finding it out. The low water levels at the so-called hydropower stations and the inferior systems at the solar farms are now showing themselves. This was a warning that was given to the power company a long time ago. The Power Purchase Agreement may have been a good idea but from what we have seen over the last few years, there are people involved who are more interested in making money than providing power. That is a discussion for another time.

For now, we need electricity for homes and the truth from the EPC on what the situation is really like. If more generators have been under duress, then tell the nation, if there needs to be more power rationing, then tell the people.

This is a national crisis, it means that it needs the help of the nation. If you keep vital information from the people, how do you expect them to be part of the solution?