Energy Fiji Ltd (EFL)has called for an urgent fuel cost recovery support and warned that if it does not get it by this Friday, it will go into national power rationing mode from next month.
This, it said, is because the country’s electricity system is facing serious operational and financial pressures arising from the ongoing global fuel crisis, increasing dependence on thermal generation and worsening dry season hydrological conditions.
The triple whammy is now eating into its books, with the higher cost of fuel alone resulting in a loss of 54.54 cents per unit (kWh) of power produced.
“The current fuel prices are financially unsustainable under the existing electricity tariff structure,” EFL chief executive officer Fatiaki Gibson said in a statement yesterday.
“Current generation costs in Viti Levu are;
m Industrial Diesel Oil (IDO): 86.70 cents per kWh compared to an average selling tariff of 38.4 cents per kWh, resulting in a loss of 48.30 cents per unit generated; and
m Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO): 44.64 cents per kWh compared to an average selling tariff of 38.4 cents per kWh, resulting in a loss of 6.24 cents per unit generated.”
The company’s board has reached out to its line Ministry and the Minister for Finance to seek budget support for March, April and going forward from May to December 2026 while it awaits the fate of its Fuel Surcharge application to the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC).
FCCC has confirmed to this newspaper that it will announce its decision on this today.
EFL has also approved an Operational Response Framework (ORF) linked directly to the level of fuel recovery support received, in which it has laid out its cost crisis responses.
“Under the approved ORF;
- If full fuel recovery support for March and April 2026 is received by May 22, 2026, EFL will continue normal operations;
- If only partial support is received, EFL will implement controlled rotational load shedding from June 1, 2026;
- If no recovery support is received, EFL will commence controlled national power rationing from June 1 2026 following public notification.”
