By Losirene Dasalusalu, Cook Islands News
The Tauhunu Power Station in Manihiki was destroyed in a fire on Tuesday morning. Photo: Cook Islands News
Following a fire that completely destroyed the power station in Tauhunu, Manihiki atoll, efforts are underway to deploy resources to restore power, while portable generators provide temporary relief.
Power in the village of Tauhunu has been affected after a fire destroyed its power station on Tuesday morning (Wednesday NZT).
Akaiti Puna, MP for Manihiki, said the incident was unfortunate, but their immediate focus is not on how or why the fire started, but on restoring power to the people.
According to reports, the Tauhunu Power Station was completely destroyed by a blaze which broke out around 6am during a routine changeover from diesel generation to solar power.
The incident left parts of the island without power, and generators from Te Marae Ora (Health Ministry) and Island Administration were sought to provide temporary relief.
Manihiki executive officer Retire Puapii told the Cook Islands News that only the village of Tauhunu is affected.
While the cause is unknown, they are working to get support from Rarotonga, he said.
"We are trying to fix the power; a few things are needed from Rarotonga, so we are waiting for temporary support for Tauhunu," Puapii said.
He said generators were being used at the moment, especially for their refrigerators. Te Marae Ora provided two 7kVA portable generators, and the Island Administration provided a 5kVA generator that has provided some power to the island.
MP Puna said they are working with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and Te Aponga Uira (government-owned electricity provider) to see what resources are available in Rarotonga that could be deployed to Manihiki and restore power to most of the homes.
"At the moment, they're running under generators, and it'll probably last for a couple of months. That will save their foodstuff and get them going. But we need to do a bit more than that."
She said everything is currently under control, and they are looking at the logistics while waiting to see Te Aponga Uira's plan for getting the power going again in Manihiki.
While there is no confirmation on when equipment from Rarotonga will be deployed to Manihiki, Puna said they are looking at Te Kukupa II, which is expected to go up to the Northern Group soon.
"Te Kukupa has a trip going up north soon, so we're hoping to see if we can deploy on that. But, more importantly, we need to see if we have what we need to take up to Manihiki available on the island."
She added that the people of Manihiki are resourceful, and "we are doing everything we can to get them back into some sort of normality again very soon".
The OPM was approached for comment. Cook Islands News specifically asked what kind of support the government is providing, if a team from Rarotonga is heading to Manihiki to inspect the destroyed power station and the estimated cost of the fire damage.
The generator that helps charge the solar system when there is no sun was destroyed in the fire, according to Manihiki resident JeanMarie Williams. Photo: Cook Islands News
In a Facebook post, Manihiki resident JeanMarie Williams said that the generator that helps charge the solar system when there is no sun was destroyed in the fire.
"The solar system is OK. But inside the generator building is the transformer and other distribution boards that distribute the power to the homes. These burned down completely hence we cannot use the solar. We need a new one in place
"We are all OK but in need of home generators now while awaiting Central Government assistance. Island Government is doing their best to cater for the immediate needs of the village.
"Thank you for your prayers and well wishes."
-This article was first published by Cook Islands News.
