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Saipan hit with islandwide power outage
An electrical fault in one of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s feeders caused an islandwide power outage at 3:38am yesterday and was fully restored some seven hours later, at 10:25am. The power outage also affected the water supply and were restored in stages, since it took some two to three hours to fully pressurize the water distribution system.
According to a CUC statement, CUC experienced a major electrical fault on the Feeder 1 circuit fronting the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. in Garapan at 3:38am. The fault caused an electrical surge, which tripped the Power Plant 1 station service and the Aggreko Plant, “causing under-voltage at [Power Plant 1 and] triggering the protective devices, resulting in an islandwide power outage.”
Water services were also interrupted in Papago, San Vicente, Dandan, Obyan, and areas in Gualo Rai.
CUC said that its line crew immediately went to work to restore and energize the power lines, restoring power in stages across the island: Feeder 1 (1st Partial) at 8:44am; Feeder 2 and 3 at 9:28am; Feeder 4 at 8:51am; Feeder 7 at 9:05am; Kiya 1 and 2 at 9:35am; Kiya 3 at 10:05am; and Kiya 4 at 10:25am.
The island’s power grid was fully restored by 10:25am.
As for the water supply, the Gualo Rai TSA went back online at 11:18am but two to three hours were needed for the system to pressurize for distribution of water. Customers in the Gualo Rai area were expected to have water service no later than 2:30pm yesterday.
Customers on the Papago TSA were scheduled to receive restoration of water service at 1:30pm yesterday. Customers on the San Vicente TSA will continue to experience low water pressure due to low tank level until further notice.
