Gov’t clarifies street lighting surcharge on electricity bills

The government has clarified concerns regarding the new street lighting surcharge appearing on electricity bills for customers in Port Vila and Efate, following an addendum to the concession contract with UNELCO early this year.

The surcharge appears under the ‘Rate’ column of ‘Street Light Contribution’ and is not subject to each consumer category. The surcharge for the first quarter of 2026 (January to March) was fixed at VT0.49 per KWh.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Energy explained that the surcharge is applied to a customer’s total monthly electricity consumption to determine the consumers’ Street Light Contribution. For example, if a Consumer uses 204 kWh in a month: 204 kWh × 0.49 VT/kWh = VT100. This amount appears on a customer’s bill as “Street Light Contribution.”

According to the ministry, UNELCO collects funds from all customers and deposit them into an Investment Support Fund dedicated solely to street lighting services.

“Under the Port Vila Street Lighting Management Contract, the first six (6) months of 2026 are dedicated to: inspection of existing street lighting infrastructure; technical assessment of potholes, wiring, and lights; planning of rehabilitation and restoration works; and reporting to the government,” said the ministry in a statement.

“These activities are part of the contracted Cost of Service. Even though the street lights may not yet be fully operational, the service provider is already undertaking contractual obligations funded through this mechanism. Repairs of existing street lights and the installation of new street lights will be underway by the middle of the year.

“Under the Port Vila Street Lighting Management Contract, street lights will be deployed along the entirety of UNELCO’s Low Voltage network in the Efate concession. This means that if you are on the UNELCO network or live near it, street lights will be installed near you within the contract period of 3 years.”

UNELCO will repair up to 250 streetlights per year, install up to 100 new ones per year, install any additional government-provided solar streetlights, including an already-secured grant of 250 solar street lights to be integrated into the network, including maintenance.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Energy emphasized that customer contribution is necessary.

“As residents of Port Vila and Efate will have noticed, there are very few functioning streetlights. Streetlighting in Port Vila has been managed under several arrangements over the past decade, none of which have worked out,” stressed the ministry.

“ In 2011, a partnership between the Port Vila City Council (PVCC) and UNELCO supported upgrades and maintenance, but delivery became difficult as PVCC faced budget constraints.

“In 2014, PVCC, the Utilities Regulatory Authority (URA) and UNELCO agreed to an interim approach that maintained services by recovering costs through the general electricity tariff, pending a tariff review.

“But with the review delayed, the arrangement ended by 2019, and repairs have since been carried out largely on an ad-hoc, funding-dependent basis.

“Reliable street lighting improves public safety and security, road safety, business activity, and community wellbeing.

“Improving public infrastructure requires investment. The Street Light Contribution is a transparent, structured way for all electricity users to contribute fairly to the restoration and maintenance of safe lighting across Port Vila and peri-urban areas.”

The government assured it is working with development partners to provide additional street lighting assets.

“As already mentioned, the government has already secured an additional 250 solar street lights from a donor that will be installed under this contract with UNELCO. These Government or partner-funded assets will not form part of the service provider’s asset base and will not increase customer contributions,” said the ministry responsible for energy.