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More transformers arrive on Saipan
With the final shipment of over 300 transformers, all materials needed for the restoration of power on Saipan after Typhoon Soudelor will soon be on island.
A total of 486 refurbished transformers from the Solomon Corporation were ordered by the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., the first 180 of which were delivered Oct. 11.
The first 86 of the 306 transformers that were flown to Guam arrived at the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport yesterday. Three more flights will be coming in today and another one on Friday.
“Now it’s just a matter of getting these transformers on our poles and connecting our customers. That’s the only thing that’s standing between them getting power,” public information officer Brad Ruszala said
“It’s just going to be hard work and time. We have the materials here and we have the people on the ground and all we have to do is start putting stuff up,” he added.
Ruszala said CUC’s current target is to have 90 percent of the island to be back on grid power by the end of the month.
“I know we’re more than 85 [percent] now,” Ruszala said.
Ruszala said the island will be up to 100 percent “before Thanksgiving.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency also took part in the effort to bring these transformers on island.
“Our role is strictly to transport the transformers. We arranged to pick them up in Kansas by truck, get them to the airport, get them to Guam, get them transferred to smaller planes and then get them here,” FEMA federal coordinating officer Stephen M. DeBlasio Sr. said.
CUC acting executive director John Riegel earlier said he welcomes the arrival of Solomon’s transformers and credits the efforts of CUC’s in-house team and visiting disaster responders for getting restoration crews the materials they need.
“This order was the product of a coordinated effort between CUC and our local, regional and federal partners. Without this partnership, our recovery would be delayed by months, during which time our community would suffer without essential services,” Riegel said.
