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IN CASE OF DISASTER
CUC emergency backup system tested and ready
Betty G. Terlaje
The 1.5-megawatt engine at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s Power Plant 3 in Isley Field that serves as an emergency backup system to power the water wells at the Saipan airport has already been tested and is ready to go.
Betty G. Terlaje, who is the acting CUC executive director, said in an interview Friday that the engine at Power Plant 3 was ready for the recent Typhoon Mawar, but it was not needed because the typhoon spared Saipan.
“So it just standby at this point. Should there be a disaster again here, that would power up our water wells right away,” Terlaje said. “We warmed it before the typhoon. It’s been tested already. It is connected to our wells.”
Terlaje said the purpose of Power Plant 3 is for an emergency backup system.
Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Office’s $7.3-million grant for the water hazard mitigation, the engine, described as a Caterpillar, arrived on Saipan last April.
CUC said the engine is self-generating, which means it stands its own, is self-contained and will have remote control capability.
Power Plant 3 was deactivated in 2002. CUC reactivated it for the use of water wells during emergencies or disasters.
