CUC starts process to obtain federal aid

Federal authorities joined their local counterparts and the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for the initial stages of the restoration of Saipan’s power, water and wastewater services, which were rendered inoperable by Typhoon Soudelor.

Officers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a representative from the U.S. Department of Energy, and representatives from the CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management met with the utility’s management and staff yesterday morning to discuss CUC’s needs and capabilities for the restoration of essential services to Saipan.

CUC Power and Water crews team up to remove fallen power poles and power lines from Chalan Monsignor Guerrero after Typhoon Soudelor. (CUC Public Information Officer, Brad Ruszala)

Acting CUC executive director John Riegel said that Tuesday’s meeting was the first step to get federal aid to the utility.

“It was a productive meeting and we now have a better understanding of what sort of assistance the federal government is able to deliver and what they need from us in order for us to start the process,” said Riegel.

Following the meeting, local and federal authorities toured CUC facilities at power plants 1, 2, and 4, and the Chalan Kiya Substation to perform an initial damage assessment of the island’s infrastructure and to compile a list of material needs for each facility.

While senior management met with federal officials, CUC Water and Wastewater personnel joined the Power Division linemen for the laborious task of cleaning the roadways of downed power poles, power lines, and power accessories.

Crews spent hours cutting fallen power poles with chainsaws, rolling up miles of power lines, and removing damaged poles from the lines that withstood the storm.

Water and Wastewater personnel spent the day assessing the current condition of Saipan’s 150 wells, tanks, and booster stations across the island.

Saipan remains without power and water services, with damage to power generation and distribution systems. While assessments continue at Power Plant 1, work is being done to repair the outside of the structure to prevent rainwater from causing additional damage, and Power Generation personnel work to clean the site from debris.

While fallen trees and power poles no longer clog the island’s major roadways, these obstacles continue to hamper recovery and assessment efforts along secondary roads.

The lack of power generation capability also affects CUC’s ability to deliver water service. Without electricity to power the pumps, water cannot be pumped into the reservoirs. According to Riegel, the goal for CUC is to provide limited water service this week to allow residents to fill their storage tanks and bottles.

The time, date, and locations where water will be available will be announced in the media in advance to allow the community time to prepare for water service.

No timetable exists for the complete restoration of essential services on Saipan; however, customers should prepare for an extended power and water outage.

In the meantime, the public is cautioned to stay clear of fallen power lines. Even poles that remain standing may not be safe as the storm may have damaged or weakened the poles and the accessory assemblies.

The 24-Hour CUC Customer Call Center will be open for customer calls throughout the recovery period. Representatives will forward information received from the calls to the field personnel responsible for addressing the issues.

In addition to the 24-Hour Customer Call Center, CUC will post the latest information on Facebook. Updates will include photos and videos of the storm and post-storm restoration efforts. To access the information, simply log in to your Facebook account and “Like” the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. page.

For more information, visit CUC’s website, www.cucgov.org, or contact their 24-Hour Customer Call Center at 664-4CUC (664-4282). (CUC)