‘Outages could hit tourism’

House Rep. Ray Yumul warned yesterday that the island-wide load shedding by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. could proceed for at least the next 30 days and through July.

Yumul sounded the alarm on the repercussion that the widespread power outages on Saipan may have on the visitor industry, with the possibility that tourists may also be affected.

Yumul said the urgency of the situation is all the more pronounced as Saipan is gearing up for the 60th anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian.

“I am very concerned about the effects of the power crisis on the tourism industry, especially as we head into the summer months and when tourism is expected to peak due to the World War II 60th Anniversary Commemoration celebrations,” said the congressman.

Yumul, who is chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Tourism, cautioned tourism-related businesses to be mindful of the island power situation and take precautions to keep all tourists satisfied.

He also urged hotel operators to conserve energy and use generators, if possible.

“Right now, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is working very hard to resolve the power crisis, but tourism-related businesses should still work to mitigate the problem by being proactive and responsive when it comes to tourists, because we want them to have enjoyable experiences and keep returning to our islands,” said Yumul.

Earlier, the CUC reportedly asked garment and hotel businesses to run their own generators daily to avert overloading the power plants on Saipan. CUC officials said that, by bringing all hotels and garments off line during peak hours, CUC hopes to avert load shedding in residential areas.

According to a CUC official, the utility company has to turn off power supplies at certain areas for a period of time to prevent the tripping off of operating power plants and before the generators reach full capacity.

Of the four power plants on Saipan—Power Plant 1 and 2 located in Lower Base, Power Plant 3 in Isley Airfield, and Power Plant 4 in Puerto Rico—only Power Plant 4 has been operating at a maximum capacity of 12.40 megawatts.

Power Plant 1 and 2 are supplying 53 megawatts and 3.4 megawatts respectively, while Power Plant 4 is supplying only 12.40 megawatts to the entire island.

Power Plants 1 and 2 should be supplying 81.2 and 15.0 megawatts, Power Plant 3 should be supplying 4.5 megawatts and Power Plant 4 should be supplying 19.5 megawatts for its daily operation. All power plants have the capacity to supply 120.2 megawatts of power daily but have been supplying only 68.80 megawatts.