An exceptional operation will take place overnight from Saturday to Sunday at the Punaruu substation to install an additional transformer and secure Tahiti’s power grid. In principle, no outages are planned, but the west coast, from Faa’a to Papara, will operate without its usual backup. In case of an incident, power restoration could therefore take longer than usual.
Attention to residents of the west coast. An exceptional operation is planned overnight from Saturday to Sunday on Tahiti’s electrical network. Starting at 9 p.m., the Tahiti Electric Power Transmission Company (TEP) and EDT ENGIE will intervene at the Punaruu substation. The intervention consists of temporarily de-energizing the 30,000-volt portion of the installation to complete the commissioning of an additional exchange transformer. This investment aims to strengthen the reliability of Tahiti’s electrical network by providing the Punaruu substation with redundancy for this strategic equipment. These works are part of the ongoing modernization programs of the electricity transmission network conducted by TEP.
No outages planned, in principle
To minimize disruptions, TEP will carry out the works at night. They are expected to be completed by around 5 a.m. on Sunday. For its part, EDT ENGIE has adjusted its operating plan for the distribution network to ensure that no interruption of electricity supply will be required for customers, in principle. During the entire intervention, the power supply to the municipalities located between Faa’a and Papara will be maintained by the Tipaerui and Atimaono substations.
During this period, the west coast network will nevertheless operate in an exceptional configuration, without the usual backup options. Should an incident occur that is unrelated to the works, restoring power could therefore take longer than usual. This is why professionals and local authorities equipped with generators or inverters are urged to check their functioning before Saturday.
