AUSTRALIA TO SUPPORT POWER RESTORATION IN TONGA

The Australian Government has sent a team of 10 technicians to Tonga to help restore power following the extensive damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Gita.

 

Approximately 50 per cent of the electricity network on Tongatapu, Tonga’s main island and 15 per cent of the network on nearby ‘Eua Island were compromised. As a result, an estimated 80 per cent of homes in Tonga remain without power.

 

Australian technicians, together with a team from New Zealand, will assist Tonga Power to restore Tonga’s critical electrical infrastructure.

 

With the assistance of Energy Networks Australia, the Government is partnering with Australian energy companies NJ Construction, Essential Energy, TransGrid and Evoenergy, which have helped to rapidly source skilled personnel for deployment to Tonga. 

 

Australian technicians will help restore power back to homes, reinstate health and education services, and enable businesses to resume operations.

 

The team travelled to Tonga on an ADF C17-A Globemaster, the sixth flight transporting humanitarian supplies and Defence and civilian personnel since the cyclone hit. They are the first of two Australian teams deployed over four weeks whose contribution will help reduce the time Tongans are without power from an estimated three months to one month.

 

This assistance forms part of the $3.5 million post-cyclone relief package that Australia is providing to Tonga.