FAMILIES in the small community of Masaranikai in Wailevu have been waiting nearly 30 years for electricity, but high connection costs have delayed the process.
A concerned resident, Masili Komo, said they first applied for electricity in 1996.
“We were asked to pay $96,000 from our pocket, but we just didn’t have that kind of money,” he said.
Mr Komo said the electricity was needed to power just three homes at the time.
In 2017, the families applied again. This time, they were quoted $32,000, which was still too expensive for them.
Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) technician Ravneel Prasad said a survey of the area was recently completed.
“After that, we will issue the quotation and wait for government payment,” he said.
Mr Prasad said the report would be submitted to their head office.
“Once the payment is arranged, we’ll go ahead with the installation of electricity.”
Residents remain hopeful that this time, they will finally get connected to the power grid.
