The island-wide unexpected power outage on Thursday resulted from a workplace accident during repairs on the cross-island cable, where Te Aponga Uira (TAU) staff were allegedly electrocuted.

The sudden power outage occurred at 12.16pm on Thursday and was fully restored island-wide by 1.57 pm.

Questions about the cause of the unplanned outage were sent to Te Aponga Uira on the same day but no response was received.

Yesterday, Cook Islands News sent a follow-up email after learning from reliable sources that the outage was related to a work incident where staff were allegedly electrocuted.

The newspaper inquired about the number of staff affected and their condition, whether an investigation into the incident would be conducted, when and by whom it would be led, and the scope of the investigation.

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, Te Aponga Uira confirmed the outage was result of a workplace accident but did not specify if electrocution was involved.

“Yesterday (Thursday), Rarotonga experienced an unexpected electricity outage. Sadly, this was the result of a workplace accident involving four of our staff working to test recent repairs on the cross-island cable,” the statement said.

“Working in rough terrain with site access challenges, our staff were injured during an incident. Emergency services were on the scene quickly, and one of our staff remained in a stable condition in hospital overnight. We are grateful to the hospital staff, Police, and to our wider team who acted swiftly to take care of those injured.

“Our thoughts, love and prayers are with our impacted staff and their families, and with all of our small team of hard-working staff.

Noting that this was an isolated incident, the state-owned electricity agency said it would investigate the matter.

“We are undertaking a full internal investigation to understand what took place and to ensure all steps are taken in future to avoid such an incident taking place,” Te Aponga Uira said.

“We thank our customers and the community for your understanding at this time.
In June, Rarotonga residents experienced unexpected island-wide power outages for three consecutive nights, lasting from 15 minutes to over two hours, between 6.48pm and 9.10pm.

TAU then said the power outages were caused by issues with load control and a connection between their two powerhouses, assuring the public they have identified the problems and fixed them.