American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States, situated 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its energy sector runs almost entirely on imported fossil fuels. Major challenges for utility infrastructure include destructive natural hazards (particularly earthquakes, cyclones, and tsunamis), high fuel costs, and waste management capacity.
Barriers to building more energy infrastructure include a lack of certain energy resources, grid instability, negative public perception, and constraints associated with American Samoa’s communal land ownership system. Other challenges include a lack of land to build new projects and a high concentration of sea spray, which can degrade energy systems more quicky.
In 2025, the average electricity price for residential customers in American Samoa was approximately $.036/kWh, two times the U.S. average of $.018/kWh.
American Samoa Energy Baseline Report
This report was developed with the support of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) and in collaboration with several key partners in American Samoa.
Territory of American Samoa Energy Sector Risk Profile
This Energy Risk Profile examines the relative magnitude of the risks that the Territory of American Samoa’s energy infrastructure routinely encounters in comparison with the probable impacts.
Grid Resilience Activities
Grid Resilience Formula Grant:
American Samoa received over $2 million in FY22-24 funding to:
- Upgrade outdated and failing energy infrastructure items such as electrical switchgear, substations, power lines, power poles, and transformers serving villages and communities to reduce frequency of power outages.
- Invest in resilience solutions to ensure that critical community facilities serving customers are not impacted by events such as extreme weather conditions, fire or other events causing disruption to normal grid operations.
Managed through OE and administered by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants program is designed to strengthen and modernize America’s power grid against wildfires, extreme weather, and other natural disasters.