By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The Guam Power Authority said it is seeking federal assistance in increasing Guam's power capacity as the island continues to experience power outages.
Officials said engagements with federal agencies were initiated before Typhoon Mawar.
Guam households throughout the island experienced power outages Friday night "due to compounded challenges with power generation," according to the Guam Power Authority.
"Last night, the two baseload units and 1 non-baseload unit were offline which caused some circuits to experience outages beyond the initially planned one-hour time frame or earlier than scheduled," GPA said.
GPA said Piti 8 was restored as power demand decreased throughout the night.
"GPA acknowledges that these outages have caused inconveniences to the community," GPA said. "While plant personnel will be working around the clock to stabilize the system, an update is provided below on the current status and ongoing efforts to address the situation." · Piti 8 (baseload unit): Faced a cooling water leak last night, requiring emergency repair which was completed at 2:40 a.m. today. · Cabras 2 (steam baseload unit): Experienced a boiler tube leak Thursday night and is offline for repairs which is expected to take a few days. · Piti 7: Currently offline for preventive maintenance, with efforts underway to expedite its return to service sooner than scheduled. GPA earlier released the schedule of power outages throughout the month of November, which officials said was built to account for a scenario where two baseload units could go offline
"GPA continues its short-term mitigation efforts while actively working on multiple fronts to address the current challenges and ensure a more resilient power supply for the future,' GPA said. · Piti 7 Maintenance: Preventative maintenance work on Piti 7 is expected to yield an additional 9 MW by next week.
· Interruptible Load Program (ILP): 16 MW of energy is being contributed by large customers and the U.S. Navy who voluntarily switch to their standby generators during peak demand periods, helping to minimize outages for other customers.
· Conservation campaign: Customers have been actively assisting to reduce peak demand by implementing energy-saving plans during peak hours.
· Temporary power: GPA is in the process of bringing in temporary power, with plans submitted to the Public Utilities Commission this month. Pending approvals and no protests, temporary units could be online within 100 days after contract signing.
· Typhoon damage repair: Repairs to the Yigo CT 20 MW, damaged during Typhoon Mawar, are underway, with completion expected by the end of February.
· Diesel unit repairs: GPAis working with Sen. Parkinson on an expedited procurement process to repair diesel units, potentially increasing output by 25 MW by April.
· Battery storage: Preparing bids for additional battery storage to enhance capacity.
· Renewable Energy Initiatives: Responses are currently being reviewed for a large renewable energy bid (Phase IV); Virtual power plant will be with the CCU and PUC soon for review/approval
Customers are encouraged to conserve power from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Refraining from using unnecessary air conditioning units and turning off electric water heaters immediately before and during the peak demand hours can significantly assist in reducing energy demand and required load shedding.
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