Communities kept in the dark

Families residing in Southern Taveuni have been without electricity despite years of appeals for power network extension.

In calling on the Government to extend electricity to their communities they said years of requests had produced little progress.

Taveuni Buses manager operations Prakash Sami said communities beyond Wairiki continued to live without a reliable power supply, making daily life challenging for families.

“For years, we’ve been trying to get in touch with the relevant ministries for the extension of power beyond Wairiki towards the southern end of the island, but nothing has happened,” he said.

Mr Sami said the lack of electricity was particularly difficult for families with school children, who were unable to benefit from basic household conveniences such as refrigeration and adequate lighting for studying.

“Many students come to school from the southern end of the island, but their families don’t have freezers or proper lighting,” he said.

“It is very difficult for parents to prepare food early in the morning because there is no proper food storage system.”

Without electricity, families are forced to prepare meals daily because they cannot safely store perishable food, adding unnecessary costs and hardship.

Mr Sami said extending the electricity network would improve living conditions, support children’s education and provide communities with access to a basic service enjoyed elsewhere. He urged government and relevant authorities to prioritise the long-awaited power extension to the southern parts of Taveuni.

Southern Taveuni resident Vimal Nand said the ongoing fuel shortage had made it increasingly difficult for families to rely on generators as their main source of electricity.

“Seems like we pay more for generator than food,” he said. An email has been sent to Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) regarding this issue and it is yet to respond.