Projects & programmes: Infrastructure

Wisdom in the Solomon Islands

In 2007, the Solomon Islands power and water authorities had reached a difficult impasse: with obligations to the government amounting to fifteen times their net worth, no financial accounts, and poor operating levels, the future looked dim. To complicate matters further, time tariffs for both power and water were some of the highest in the Pacific. A PwC team from the Solomon Islands, India, and Australia was tasked with finding a solution.

Approach

After benchmarking the performance of utilities across the region, performing a diagnostic review of the sector, and conducting a stakeholder survey, the PwC team obtained substantive commitments from the utilities on performance improvement, reliability of supply, tariffs and financial restructuring.

Outcomes

PwC concluded that the power and water authorities should operate under a common management, and that the joint management contract should be put out to tender to the private sector. The government accepted this suggestion and continues to operate accordingly.