A vehicle crash that damaged a power pole at Nukunuku has forced Tonga Power Limited to shut down electricity across several western Tongatapu communities early this morning while emergency repairs are carried out.
The incident is the latest apparent vehicle collision involving roadside power infrastructure, raising renewed concern over crashes that can leave entire communities without electricity and require urgent overnight repairs.
Tonga Power said a power pole in the Nukunuku area was broken after being struck by a vehicle last night.
As a result, electricity was scheduled to be temporarily disconnected from 1am until about 4am today, Thursday 10 September, to allow crews to safely replace the damaged pole.
The outage affects Nukunuku, Matahau, Teʻekiu, Masilamea, ʻAtatā Siʻi, Foʻui, Haʻavakatolo, Kolovai, ʻAhau, Kanokupolu and Haʻatafu.
“This outage is necessary to allow our team to safely replace a broken power pole in the Nukunuku area, which was damaged by a vehicle last night,” Tonga Power said in its public notice.
The company apologised for the disruption and said electricity would be restored as soon as the repair work was completed.
The incident highlights the wider consequences when vehicles strike electricity infrastructure. Damage to a single pole can extend beyond the crash site, disrupting electricity to numerous communities while also requiring repair crews to work urgently to make damaged infrastructure safe.
It was not immediately clear from Tonga Power’s notice how the crash occurred, whether anyone was injured, or the extent of damage to the vehicle.
Authorities have yet to release further details about the incident.
