From its beginnings, Fiji Electricity Authority (FEA) has subscribed to the same goal of electricity providers worldwide: “to generate and distribute electricity to the people of Fiji at the lowest possible cost with a view to enhance and support the overall development of the country,” the state-owned electricity provider says.
By contracting skills from around the world to build state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, FEA has been able to live up to those expectations. “If you look at standards for power system losses, which looks at what you generate versus what you sell, the standard hovers around 10 percent,” CEO Hasmukh Patel explains. “So, if sales are 10 percent less than what you generated, then your system is perfectly designed with good equipment and up to industry standards.
“For FEA, we hover at about 10 percent,” he adds.” So I can safely say that our power system has been designed to world-class standards.”
Meeting its goal depends on business management just as much as the equipment it uses. FEA is a state-owned company but operates as a commercial entity. The authority develops business plans, answers to shareholders, pays government taxes, takes out and pays back loans and complies with corporate regulations. Last year, it received recognition from the Fiji Business Excellence Awards.
However, the increasing demand for electricity coupled with rising costs of traditional fuel has presented challenges. Fortunately, through investing in energy autonomy, FEA is making strides to surmount this challenge.
“Because a substantial part of our electricity is generated using fossil fuels, the unpredictability of fuel prices affects our operation,” Patel explains. “Global events outside of our control affect the price of fuel and then we have to bear the brunt.”
FEA operates two major thermal stations in Fiji in Vuda and Kinoya and six other smaller thermal stations on the island of Viti Levu, which all use fossil fuels. It also operates the Nagado Hydro Power Station, Butoni Wind Farm, Wainikasou Hydro Power Station and the Wailoa Hydro Power Station also on the island of Viti Levu. FEA also operates two thermal power stations and a hydro power station on the Island of Vanua Levu and a thermal power station on Ovalau Island.
FEA has power purchase agreements with independent power providers such as Fiji Sugar Corp. (FSC) and Tropik Woods to purchase power to supply power for Viti Levu. FEA also purchases power from FSC to support Vanua Levu during the sugar crushing season. FEA supplies power to 80 percent of Fiji’s population, including domestic, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.
FEA expects electricity demand to grow at an annual rate of two or two-and-a-half percent. The authority has set a goal to generate 90 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2015. This will create predictability in supply and pricing for itself and its customers.
It is constructing a 40MW hydroelectric plant at Nadarivatu on Viti Levu using two 20MW turbines. The project is nearly completed and should be in operation by April.
Planning for the project began in 2007, and it is being funded by loans from the China Development Bank, and ANZ Bank and BSP Bank, both based in Fiji.
The plant is situated at the headwaters of the Sigatoka River, where the Nukunuku and Qaliwana rivers join. It will be operated remotely from FEA’s National Control Centre. The system has a peak output of 40MW and is expected to produce 101 gigawatt-hours annually.
“For the people, this will produce the energy we need to meet the needs of today and the future,” Patel says. “For the nation, it helps us continue toward our economic development and reduce our foreign exchange bill because our fossil fuel is imported.”
