CUC gives status update on islandwide recovery efforts

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. continues to work on restoring Saipan’s power and water systems with the assistance of local, regional and federal partners. Here’s the latest information about Saipan’s power, water and wastewater capabilities.

Power

CUC Power Division is working concurrently to restore our transmission and distribution systems throughout the island by slowly energizing areas after careful inspections while power plant crews address our generation capabilities.

Generation

Power Plant 4 in Puerto Rico now operates a total of four generators capable of producing 6MW of electricity. Previously used only in reserve, Power Plant 4 currently powers Saipan’s hospital and the wells that fill the Navy Hill and Puerto Rico reservoirs.

Restoration crews will continue by slowly energizing areas after careful inspections.

Prior to the arrival of Typhoon Soudelor, Power Plant 1 provided islandwide power to the people of Saipan. Restoration efforts suffered a brief setback when the plant in Lower Base lost station service as a result of wind and rain brought by Tropical Storm Goni. Service has since been restored and the internal recovery efforts have resumed.

Transmission and distribution

Eight teams of linemen from Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Guam continue to erect poles from the Chalan Kiya substation to the Saipan airport. To date, restoration crews have erected a total of 77 power poles in the villages of Garapan, Puerto Rico, Chalan Kiya, Navy Hill, As Lito and Dandan. The closed network known as Feeder 1, between the hospital and Power Plant 4, has been completed. CUC has also restored the lines along Navy Hill Road up to the Calhoun reservoir. As a result, CUC now provides line power to operate the Navy Hill pumps.

CUC is also awaiting a shipment of 30 power poles from Rota and a total of 950 power poles from the U.S. mainland. Plans are underway to have the first batch of 150 poles flown to Saipan in a U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy.

Water

CUC added the villages of Capital Hill, As Matuis, and San Roque to the growing list of areas receiving water on Saipan. Until CUC is able to energize each of Saipan’s 150 wells, our Water Division is working to deliver islandwide water service, albeit in a limited capacity, using a network of generators from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Below is the current schedule for limited water service by village:

Limited water service schedule

– San Antonio: 8am to 1pm daily
– Chalan Piao: 8am to 1pm daily
– Chalan Kanoa: Odd days: 6pm to 8am Even days: 1pm to 6pm
– Susupe: Odd days: 1pm to 6pm Even days: 6pm to 8am
– Oleai: Odd days: 1pm to 6pm Even days: 6pm to 8am
– San Jose: Odd days: 1pm to 6pm Even days: 6pm to 8am
– Chalan Kiya: 24 hours (lower elevations only)
– Navy Hill (Upper): 12pm to 4pm daily
– Navy Hill (Lower): 8am to 12pm
– Chinatown: 4pm to 5pm daily
– As Teo: 3pm to 7pm daily
– As Matuis: 10am to 12pm daily
– San Roque: 8am to 10am daily

Capital Hill is broken up into three sections:
– CH 1: 8am to 12pm daily (East Isa Dr. from Sarah Market to Kagman Mobil Gas Station (including Atbut Dr., Egigi Dr., Ifet Dr., Chunge Pl., Fakpe PL., and Fahang Dr.).

-CH 2: 12pm to 3pm (1200 block, 1300 block, Wireless Ridge, West Isa Dr. to Haat PL., and Chalan Talafofo. *1200 block will receive water up to 7pm due to the filling station).

CH 3: 3pm to 6pm (Papago Dr., Sosugi Dr., Isa Dr. from Ahgaga Dr. to Mulberry Ln.).
*All times are subject to change based on the volume of water coming into the tank

Water filling stations

CUC continues to provide up to 100 gallons of water per household per day at filling stations across Saipan. Residential customers may fill their containers in As Teo, Capital Hill, Kannat Tabla, Navy Hill, and As Matuis. Each site is open daily from 12pm to 7pm.

The water made available at the filling stations is strictly for non-commercial residential use. No water buffaloes will be filled.

Safety precaution

As a precaution, all water provided by CUC will need to be sanitized through the use of chlorine bleach or boiling before it can be used by the community.

FOR BOILING: Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

FOR CHLORINATING: Alternatively, customers may also disinfect their water with bleach using the following measurements:

NOTE: Allow the water to stand in a covered container, away from the sunlight, if possible, for at least 30 minutes.
For more information, please visit our website www.cucgov.org or contact CUC’s Customer Call Center at 664-4CUC (664-4282). (CUC)