Source: ADB. III. 22. The present yearly electricity demand in South Tarawa is around 29 GWh and is expected to grow by 2% annually. The total power rating available to PUB is around 5MW, sufficient to meet the above yearly demand when all diesel generation sets are operational.
This is a critical natural asset for South Tarawa and the project will help to reduce the decline in water availability and water quality as well as avoid the risk of further encroachment of incompatible land uses and contamination.
Sector context. Grid-connected electricity in Kiribati’s capital, South Tarawa, is generated 4. and distributed by the Public Utilities Board (PUB), a state-owned electricity and water utility.
Of the 7,877 households in South Tarawa (44% of total households in Kiribati), 72.4% are connected to grid electricity. Access is largely for lighting, and that lighting is often insufficient, inefficient, and expensive. The high electricity cost has suppressed demand and has hindered growth in the commercial and tourism sectors.
Also, despite the potential for revenue generation from the high electricity costs, there are currently no independent power providers in Kiribati. Barriers to private sector investment include (i) lack of an enabling policy and regulatory framework, (ii) credit worthiness of PUB as an off-taker, and (iii) small transaction sizes.8