Ro Filipe questions EFL share sale

Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport Ro Filipe Tuisawau turned the tables on the Opposition in Parliament on Tuesday, questioning why the former FijiFirst government sold 44 per cent of Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) to a foreign company.

Ro Filipe said the 2021 decision had complicated Fiji’s energy landscape.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya on whether EFL’s monopoly position in electricity supply was being reviewed.

Ro Filipe referred to the previous government’s sale of the 44 per cent stake to Japan’s Chugoku Electric Power Company for about $1.3 billion.

“The question is, why did FijiFirst sell the shares of EFL? That is the fundamental question we have to ask.

“Why did it sell when it could have been left as a total government entity and working together with development partners, and also just undergone some reforms,” he said.

EFL, formerly the Fiji Electricity Authority, is Fiji’s sole electricity provider.

Mr Koya raised concerns that EFL acted as both the monopoly electricity supplier and regulator, a conflict Ro Filipe acknowledged.

“The contradictory situation about EFL being the monopoly supplying electricity and also at the same time being the regulator,” Ro Filipe said.

He said a diagnostic study with the International Renewable Energy Agency had recommended separating the two roles and confirmed the Electricity Act was under review.

Ro Filipe said work with EFL on renewable energy targets was continuing.