CUC, Raise the Roof reach out to Rotary

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and a group that will be holding a fundraising effort on Saipan for the victims of Typhoon Soudelor spoke at the Rotary Club Saipan’s meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan last Tuesday.

CUC executive director John Riegel gave a background on the damage that Soudelor made on the island’s utilities as well as an update on where they are now on their recovery.
“We have a capacity right now of about 16 megawatts, with another five coming online soon,” Riegel said. “The power plant will be able to deliver the power necessary once the distribution has been restored.”

He said they are looking at 30 days to finish the work on the main lines, which consist of seven feeders, and then they will be expanding to the laterals.

“Feeder 1, 3, and 4 are energized but not the entire length,” he said.

Riegel said they are also focusing on the Chalan Kiya substation, which is scheduled for testing Tuesday.

“Our target, our goal is to get there in three months but that’s dependent on weather [and] whether or not we get materials,” Riegel said.

He pointed out that concrete poles that were supposed to come on Saturday still haven’t arrived on island.

With regards to water, limited service is available on all villages across Saipan. CUC said that as their ability to provide power to the island increases, their ability to energize wells will increase water production too.

Raise the Roof
Organizers of the Raise the Roof fundraiser that will be held today at Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan were also at the Rotary meeting to invite members to come to their event.

“We’re inviting business leaders in the community who maybe have not contributed yet or looking for a way to contribute to this disaster effort,” said planning committee lead Roxanne Diaz.

The fundraiser will benefit three organizations: the Lady Diann Torres Foundation, the American Red Cross-NMI Chapter, and United 4 Saipan.

According to Diaz, all the proceeds will go to the recovery efforts as the Skywalker Communications Group will be paying for the expenses of the event itself.

Although they will not be selling tickets to raise funds, a small part of the fundraiser will sell shirts at $100 for five pieces. Aside from the proceeds going to people in need, the shirts may also be donated to people in shelters.