The relocation of electric power poles and upgrade works to high voltage electricity lines has been blamed for power outages in at least seven villages.

The villages of Tanugamanono to Vailima, Avele, Letava, Vaoala to Tiapapata and part of Afiamalu experienced interrupted power supply on Saturday from 11am to 5pm.

The Electric Power Corporation (E.P.C.) advised of the power interruptions in a post on its social media page.

“This is due to upgrade works required to high voltage electricity lines and pole relocation in the Vailima area,” stated the E.P.C. on its Facebook page.

However, Vaoala village resident Auvaa Auvele told Samoa Observer that the power was still out after 6pm on Saturday, despite assurances by the corporation that the power will be switched back on at 5pm.

“Nothing much happened, it’s just that it kept our family sleeping all day as we couldn’t do much chores at home without the power,” he added.

“This is not the first time our power was shut down and I guess the same goes for a majority of other village residents so there’s not much of a harm.”

Despite the power outage, Mr Auvele said he saw how hard the EPC employees worked on Saturday, and those who complain should also consider the efforts of the workers, to ensure the supply is not interrupted.

“Our country is used to just complaining when the power get shut down but we also have to consider the efforts of our E.P.C workers who try their best to make electricity supply convenient for us,” he added.

The Samoa Observer saw E.P.C. workers still working on restoring electricity to the affected villages after 6pm on Saturday.