SAUNOAGA FA’APITOA A LE AFIOGA I LE PALEMIA, HON. FIAME NAOMI MATAAFA MO LE FA’AMAMALUINA O LE POLOĀ’IGA O FA’ALAVELAVE TUTUPU FA’AFUASE’I ONA O LE ‘ELETISE. [Aso Gafua, 31 Mati 2025]

SAMOA, March 31 - Ou te fa’afeiloa’i atu i lenei itula o le aso, i lau fa’afofoga’aga Samoa, mai tafa e fia o le atunu’u. O ou paia ma mamalu o le a lē afea e se fa’amatalaga, auā o Samoa o le fue lavelave, e leai se poto po’o se vave na te autalaina. Ae nu’unu’u atu ia sasaga fa’atini o tausala, i le galuega tausi a le usoga a Tumua ma Pule.

Ole vi’iga o le Atua e lē fa’aitiitia, ona o lona agalelei ma lona alofa tunoa, o lo’o malu tapu ‘ā’aoina ai pea la tatou savaliga i lenei vaitau. Mālō le ta’i, fa’afetai le fai tatalo, mālō le tapua’i.

Ona o a’afiaga ma le tulaga ogaoga ole motusia ai o le ‘eletise i le atunu’u, ua fa’amaonia ai nei e Lana Afioga i le Ao Mamalu o le Mālō, e tusa ma le Matā’upu 105 o le Fa’avae o le Mālō Tuto’atasi o Samoa 1960, le fa’amamaluina o le Poloā’iga mo Fa’alavelave Tutupu Fa’afuase’i [Proclamation of Emergency] e amata atu i le Aso Gafua, 31 Mati 2025 i le itula e 12:00 i le vaeluaga o le po se’ia o’o atu i le Aso Lua, 29 Aperila 2025.

O lenei Poloaiga mo Faalavalave Tutupu Faafuasei o le a mafai ai e le Ma ̅lo ona faatinoina ma faanatinati ai galuega fesoasoani mo le toe faaleleia o auaunaga tau eletise atoa ai ma le faaitiitia o aafiaga ile atunuu.

Ua faia lenei faaiuga e tali fuaitau atu ai ile tulaga ma’ale’ale ua iai nei le tau faasoasoaina ole eletise faapea aafiaga ile atunuu, e aofia ai:

Aafiaga i tagata lautele ma le saogalemu o fale ma meatotino tau eletise ua faaleagaina.

Aafiaga tau soifua maloloina o tagata lautele mai le fa’atamai’aina o oloa taumafa tu’u-aisa e lē gata i faleoloa ma falesiiatoa.

Aafiaga i pisinisi ma atina’e o loo faamoemoe ai le tamaoaiga o tagata lautele.

Le ono o’o atu i le 16 pasene o le tamaoaiga o le atunu’u (GDP) i totonu o le tausaga 2025, ua a’afia ona o le tulaga faaletonu o le eletise.

I le taimi nei, o lo o galulue pea le Fa’alapotopotoga o Malosiata tau Eletise e toe fa’aleleia le auaunaga ma le fa’asoasoaina atu ole eletise i vaega uma ole atunuu ona o mafuaaga e aofia ai:

Fa’aletonu i afi tetele i le Faleafi i Fiaga, ma ua a’afia ai se vaega tele o le motu o Upolu;

Fa’aletonu i uaea malolosi o lo o i lalo o le ele’ele o lo’o fa’asoasoa ai le eletise;

Motusia o laina ma le fa’aleagaina o pou molī i le malolosi o savili lea na tulai mai i le Aso Sā 09 Mati 2025,

Si’itia le maualuga o manaoga tau eletise i totonu o le atunu’u, ma ua atili fa’aopo’opoina ai le eletise moomia pe a faatusa atu i le eletise maua, aemaise lava i taimi o lo o maualuga ai le manaoga tau eletise.

O lo o galulue itutino uma o le Malo ina ia foia faafitauli nei, ma e avea lenei avanoa ou te tuuina atu ai se faamatalaga i le tulaga o lo o taoto ai nei galuega:

O le Aso 05 Aperila 2025 o lo’o fuafua e taunu’u mai ai ni afi tetele mai fafo, ua lisiina mai mo le toe fa’aleleia ole auaunaga mo le motu i Upolu, a o talia ai le taunuu mai o afi tumau ile masina o Aokuso 2025.

Ua mae’a ona fa’atauina totoga moomia mo le faaleleia o afi tetele i Fiaga, ma o lo o talia le taunuu mai mo le toe fa’aleleia atoa ai o auaunaga tau eletise.

Faamautuina i se taimi vave le faatinoga o poloketi mo malosiaga faafouina (renewable energy) e tali atu ai ile siisii pea o manaoga tau eletise.

O lenei Poloaiga, o le a fa’amamaluina mo le 30 aso, ma o le a lagolagoina ai taumafaiga uma a le tatou Malo e le gata mo le toe fa’aleleia o le auaunaga tau eletise mo le atunu’u atoa, ae fa’apea le fa’atinoina o galuega e tali atu ai i a’afiaga ona o le faaletonu o auaunaga tau eletise, ma e aofia ai le:

Vave fa’aolaina o afi ua lisiina fa’avaitaimi i le masina o Aperila, e fa’atali ai le taunu’u mai o afi tetele ia Aokuso, fa’apea ma le toe fa’aleleia atoatoa o le auaunaga a le faleafi i Fiaga;

Fa’apafala totogi o tiute ma lafoga mo afi, meafaigaluega e aofia ai ma malosiaga fa’afouina o le a fa’atauina mai mo le fa’aleleia o vaega ua fa’aletonu a le Fa’alapotopotoga o Malosiaga tau Eletise, fa’apea pisinisi, faalapotopotoga ma aiga taitasi;

Faamautu polokalame fesoasoani e fa’amāmā ’avega mo aiga, pisinisi ma vaega maoti o le atunu’u ua a’afia;

Faamautu atinae fesoasoani (vaega tupe ma tomai faapitoa) mo le faatinoga o fuafuaga alualumamao a le Faalapotopotoga o Malosiaga tau Eletise.

Faatino matafaioi fa’aletulafono a le Komiti mo Fa’alavelave Tutupu Faafuasei, o lo o auai ai itutino uma o le Malo, pisinisi ma faalapotopotoga ina ia galulue faatasi mo le toe faaleleia o auaunaga tau eletise faapea fuafuaga mo le faaitiitia o aafiaga ile atunuu.

Samoa e, e lē mavae le agaga fa’afetai i lo outou sao tāua e ala i le lalago mai i galuega faifaipea a lo tatou Mālō e tauala atu i le auaunaga a le Faalapotopotoga o Malosiaga tau Eletise. O ni taga e fai i vasa, ma ni tonu e le tuā le taumafai atu o le Mālō, pe ana leai lo outou finagalo malamalama e lagolagosua ma onosaia ai lenei galuega fītā. Fa’afetai tele i lo outou onosa’i ma le lava papale, a o fa’agasolo ai galuega fa’aleleia a le tatou Fa’alapotopotoga o Malosiaga tau Eletise.

E momoli foi le fa’afetai ma le fa’amālō a lo tatou Mālō i le aufaigaluega galulue a le Faalapotopotoga o Malosiaga tau Eletise. Mālō le tautua, fa’afetai le galulue lē fa’alogologotigā. Le Atua o manuia, na te tauia lo outou afu sisina. O lo o tatou folau pea ma lu’itau e ui ina tatou folau mālie i le laula’i o Matāmatagi a o vavala mai ata o Tauleleia.

E leai so tatou malosi, po o so tatou poto tatou te malu ai, pe ana le seanoa le Atua o lo’o tatou auauna i ai. Ua na o le Atua lava na te mafaia mea uma, o Ia na te fa’atonu folau ma ta’iala si o tatou atunu’u, e tusa ma le ta’ita’iga a lona Agaga Paia ma lona finagalo alofa iā Samoa. Ia tumau pea lo tatou fa’atuatua ma le mautinoa, pe lutia lava tatou i puava, tatou te mapu i Fagalele. O tua atu fo’i o le loulouā ma le mamafa o timuga, o lo o tumau ai pea le susulu o le la o le amiotonu a lo tatou Atua.

Ia tumau i le alofa tulituliloa ma le finagalo fa’apaolo o lo tatou Atua, le faigāmalaga a Samoa.

SOIFUA MA IA MANUIA.

HON. PRIME MINISTER OF SAMOA PRESS STATEMENT PROCLAMATION OF EMERGENCY ENERGY CRISIS [31st March 2025]

His Highness, the Head of State, Afioga Tuimaleali’ifano Va’aletoa Sualauvi II, pursuant to Article 105 of the Constitution and acting on the advice of Cabinet, has declared a State of Emergency for Samoa for 30 days, effective from 12:00am Monday 31 March to Tuesday 29 April 2025.

The Proclamation of Emergency enables the Government to implement emergency measures necessary to manage and restore national energy supply, protect public health and safety, and maintain essential services.

As a result of continuous power outages and electricity rationing, the Government acknowledges the significant impact on our people and economy, noting that:

1. The damage to household utilities and the safety of residential buildings.

2. The loss of power has compromised the storage of perishable food items in retail and wholesale outlets, as well as households.

3. The impact on private businesses and corporations affecting operations and livelihoods.

4. The projected economic cost of the crisis is estimated to reach approximately 16% of GDP for the 2025 calendar year, underscoring severe disruptions to national productivity, public services, and economic activity.

The Electric Power Corporation (EPC) has been working tirelessly to monitor the situation, identify solutions, and minimize, as best as possible, the impact on essential services and the daily lives of our people. Multiple factors have contributed to the current energy crisis, namely:

1. Mechanical failures at the Fiaga Power Station resulted in the loss of primary generators that supply a substantial portion of Upolu’s electricity;

2. A faulty underground transmission line disrupted power distribution across key parts of the national grid;

3. Severe weather events, most notably the destructive storm of 9 March 2025, caused widespread damage to energy infrastructure and further hindered restoration efforts; and

4. Rising electricity demand has placed additional strain on EPC’s generation capacity, particularly during peak consumption hours.

The Government is pleased to provide an update on the priority actions implemented to date in response to the ongoing energy crisis:

1. Temporary power generation units are scheduled to arrive on 5 April to provide immediate relief and supplement electricity supply. Full power restoration across Upolu is expected before the end of April, while awaiting the arrival and commissioning of permanent generators in August 2025.

2. Overhaul parts for the Fiaga generators are currently being procured to restore them to full operational capacity.

3. The Government remains committed to accelerating renewable energy and grid reinforcement projects to strengthen and diversify the national energy supply.

The Proclamation of Emergency will enable the Government to implement urgent measures to stabilize the energy supply and mitigate the impacts of the crisis by:

1. Ensuring the timely arrival and operation of temporary generators before the end of April, ahead of the permanent units scheduled for August, along with the necessary overhaul parts for Fiaga;

2. Lifting tax and import duties on generators and other electricity-related equipment, including renewable energy systems, procured by EPC, households, businesses, and organizations for electricity generation;

3. Mobilizing additional assistance and resources to support households, businesses, and private organizations adversely affected by the crisis;

4. Securing additional and targeted financial and technical support to assist EPC in implementing medium to long-term remedial works; and

5. Activating a whole-of-government coordinated response through the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) to coordinate the Government’s response to the energy crisis.

The Government acknowledges the significant hardship this energy crisis has placed on households, businesses, and essential services across the island of Upolu. We want to reassure everyone that restoring a stable electricity supply and supporting those most affected remain our top priorities. Every effort is being made to respond swiftly, minimize further disruptions, and provide relief where it is needed most.

With unity, resilience, and collective action, we will overcome this challenge and move toward a more secure, sustainable, and affordable energy future for all of our people.

Faafetai and God Bless Samoa.

March 31, 2025