Damaged Cable Connecting Fuluasou to Tanugamanono Now Fixed

2026-03-25 - 09:24

The Chief Executive Officer of Samoa’s State Owned Electric Power Corporation says the most recent problems experienced over the past 48 hours were caused by major damages to an underground 33kV transmission cable, which has now been fixed. In an interview with the Govt Press, Faumui Tauiliili Toimoana says the power crisis last year was a capacity issue, which has now been solved, but the recent power outages experienced this week, was due to underground cable damage. “Samoa no longer has a capacity issue,” says Faumui. Capacity issues were solved by the newly installed generators that arrived late last year. This time, says the head of EPC, power outages experienced over the last two days, were caused by a major disruption to the transmission of electricity between the Fuluasou and Tanugamanono substations. EPC General Manager, Faumui Tauiliili Toimoana Samoa has three main electricity substations. The generating plants are in Fiaga, Fuluasou, and Tanugamanono. The Fuluasou and Tanugamanono Substations are critical electrical hubs linked by an underground 33kV or 33,000 Volt transmission cable. The underground cable that connects Fuluasou and Tanugamanono substations was severely damaged. “Ua mu le underground cable lea e fesootai ai Fuluasou ma Tanugamanono..” Image provided by EPC showing the damaged underground cable that connects Fuluasou to Tanugamanono. Faumui explains that the distribution of power comes from the main source at Fiaga to Fuluasou, and then Fuluasou to Tanugamanono before it is distributed to areas east of Upolu. “So the problem arose when this underground cable that transmits electricity from Fuluasou to Tanugamanono, was severely damaged.” Serious damage to a 33kV underground cable. The Team at the Electric Power Corporation worked around the clock for two days straight to repair the damaged cable, identified in Vaimoso. Faumui said after working for 2 days, the work was finally completed in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Dont miss out on March Specials and New Arrivals at SOS! Togafuafua and Salelologa. Now that the damaged cable has been repaired, there should be no more disruptions, assures Faumui. “The cables affected are over 10 years old and prone to water damage. Another reason is burnout due to overload.” “O le isi foi mafuaaga, pe afai e overload le cable.. vaega faapena..” In moving forward, Faumui says the maintenance team will be making regular rounds to check transmission cables, to minimise the risk of unexpected damage in the future. Faumui added that cables like anything else, have a life expectancy, but added that this could not be predicted. Farmer Joe’s: Fugalei, Vaitele, Ululoloa, Saleimoa “ae o le mea lā lenā, e leiloa e tatou” Samoa’s current electricity demand is around 34 megawatts, and the capacity of EPC is now 40 megawatts. National Bank of Samoa Customer Satisfaction Survey! “TELL us about your experience with NBS Digital & In Branch Services” – Fill out form