TONGA ELECTRICITY COMMISSION – PCREEE JOINT TRAINING ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY BUSINESS START-UPS AND MENTORING

Nuku'alofa – 3 August 2021

More than 40 participants comprising of electricians, contractors, students and technical instructors gathered at the National Reserve Bank conference room for a joint training on sustainable energy business start ups and mentoring.

The training is aimed at better understanding of the laws and regulations governing the work of electrical contractors, the role of the Tonga Electricity Commission (TEC) as the Regulator and encouraging qualified and experienced electricians to do business legally and get licensed with the Commission as well as with the Ministry of Trade and Economic Development too.

TEC has only 28 registered electrical contractors but the Tonga Power Ltd has 25,000 customers.  There is only 1 registered electrical contractor in Vava'u but there are 3754 TPL customers in there. There are no registered electrical contractor in Ha'apai and there are 1084 TPL customers in there.

“Very often, electrical hazards happened and lives and properties are regrettably lost due to electrical works conducted by people without a licence and works that do not comply with the Commission’s guidelines and processes. But these very sad events could be avoided’’, said Mr Ma'u Havea [Deputy Chair of the Tonga Electricity Commission] in opening the training. ‘’The Commission is therefore very pleased to collaborate with the PCREEE to raise awareness about its roles and responsibilities as well as the type of assistance that are available to those in need. I hope this training would enable participants and students from the Tonga Institute of Science and Technology to consider starting their own business and get licensed and serve Tonga’s increasing demand for reliable, cost effective and safe electricity services.”

‘’Electrical contractors play a key role in Tonga’s recovery from natural disasters and for safeguarding the country from the COVID pandemic. The Nuku'alofa-based PCREEE is honoured to continue its close collaboration with the TEC and the government of Tonga in supporting a resilient and safe energy sector and with more participation of the private sector’’, said Paea Tau'aika from the PCREEE.

End