Engine problems knock out Saipan power

A series of mechanical and electrical problems at the three Saipan power plants knocked out power from several areas of the island yesterday.

“An exhaust valve problem on Engine No. 5 at Power Plant 1, an electrical problem at Power Plant 2 and a mechanical problem on Engine No. 5 at Power Plant 4 all required immediate repairs,” said the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. in a statement issued yesterday.

CUC said the problems required the shutdown of the three engines, resulting in the inability of the power plants to generate the required electrical power to adequately meet island demand. This required CUC to implement emergency load shedding.

While repair work continues, CUC will be implementing a rotating power outage schedule.

As soon as CUC is capable of providing sufficient electrical generation to meet the island demand, this schedule will longer be required. This schedule assumes that no additional engine problems occur during this emergency repair. [B][I](Saipan Tribune)[/I][/B]