3K hours of outages so far

So far this year, there have been 3,112 hours worth of power outages on Saipan, almost double what the island experienced during all of 2007, according to figures provided by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

But the number of outages since the emergency Aggreko generators were installed and turned on in September has decreased dramatically. Through Oct. 24, the island experienced only 44 hours of outages for the month of October.

“We hit a crescendo in July and August,” said Antonio Muña, executive director of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

Once the Aggreko generators came in there was a noticeable change, he said.

“Notice the big drop in September,” he said, noting that there were 321 hours of outages that month, less than half the previous month’s number. “Look at it from a standpoint of a 24-hour day over a 30-day period.”

Muña said there have been some recent outages, including an islandwide blackout for three hours that occurred last week, but most of the outages as of late have been caused by distribution, as opposed to power generation.

“We’re seeing more of a field problem, rather than a power generation problem,” he added. In fact, this month has seen 12 hours of outages caused by transformer issues, the most of any month since January 2007.

The weather, particularly the wind, is causing some of the problems, he said. The utility company will soon try to clear some of the overhanging tree branches that interfere with the power lines, he added.

“Unfortunately bucket trucks are down,” he said. “We’re trying to get those back up to accelerate and focus on the process.”

From January through Oct. 24, there have been 1,489 hours of pre-arranged outages for the year, while another 1,395 hours were due to a lack of power supply. The other reasons for outages were: transformers: 22 hours; faulty equipment: 21 hours; act of man: 55 hours; secondary: 32 hours; and others: 98 hours.

Last year, there were 1,705 hours of total outages. The breakdown is: lack of power supply; 1,075 hours; pre-arranged: 436 hours; transformers: 19 hours; faulty equipment: 34 hours; act of man: four hours; secondary: 129 hours; and other: seven hours.

In June 2007 there were 522 hours without power—the highest for the year—while the month of May 2007 saw no outages.

The Aggreko generators were turned on Sept. 12, adding 13 megawatts of power to the island. A few weeks later another two megawatts were added, helping meet the island demand of 41 megawatts. Since then there have been no load sheddings.

[B]OUTAGE BREAKDOWN[/B] Total number of outages from January to Oct. 24, 2008
-Pre-arranged outages: 1,489 hours
-Lack of power supply: 1,395 hours
-Transformers: 22 hours
-Faulty equipment: 21 hours
-Acts of man: 55 hours
-Secondary: 32 hours;
-Others: 98 hours
[I]Source: Commonwealth Utilities Corp.[/I]