By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
At the height of the power crisis caused by typhoon Mawar, Sen. William A. Parkinson attempted to call an oversight hearing on the Guam Power Authority.
But GPA general manager John Benavente begged off from the ill-timed legislative grilling, noting that restoring power is the agency’s current priority.
In response to Benavente's request, the chairman of the Committee on Power and Energy Utilities indefinitely postponed the oversight hearing originally scheduled for June 15.
The oversight hearing was supposed to discuss the status of standby generators at the Guam Waterworks Authority and the resiliency of infrastructure; the status of new solar and Ukudu power plants; the typhoon effect on the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause rates; and transmission line and substation recovery and resiliency,
“Mr. Benavente stated that the focus of the authority is to recover 95 percent or more of customers by June 26 and that they would like to continue toward this goal before having an oversight hearing,” Parkinson said.
“With that being said, if GPA says that they need more time to focus on fixing our power lines, then I will, of course, cooperate with them. Mainly, what I want to know is what happened during the storm, what we did to solve the problems caused by the storm, and how we can be better prepared for the future.”
Based on the latest update, GPA has restored power to 64.2 percent of its customers and restored load at 81.5 percent.
GPA said service was restored to an additional 1,861 customers within the last 24-hours, including densely-populated residential buildings and/or areas in Dededo, Yigo, Mongmong-Toto-Maite.
But power remains largely unstable, with occasional outages in areas where service has been restored since the typhoon.
Today, GPA reported an emergency outage affecting multiple areas around the island.
"At approximately 1,541, GPA’s Island-wide Power System (IWPS) experienced a fault on our transmission line resulting in severed systems. We are in the process of securing (turning off) some power in order to merge the system into one transmission line," GPA said.
The process was expected to take one to three hours to complete.
"As mentioned, GPA would like to reiterate to our customers that during restoration and recovery especially after a super-typhoon, the Island-Wide Power System may be unstable, with fluctuating voltages, power interruptions and intermittencies occurring," GPA said
"Once your power has been restored to your home or businesses, you may experience outages or interruptions. This is not unusual as the grid is fragile and a period of system instability will occur until full restoration is completed," GPA said.
Areas of focus in the next one to seven days include:
NORTHERN SECTOR
Severe typhoon damage to the power grid in Dededo and Yigo.
• Dededo, various areas including at or near the main village, Ysengsong, Cockpit area, Chalan Balako, Kayen Kadada, Rte 3, Salisbury, Astumbo, Lower Astumbo, Chalan Guriyos, Chalan Chacanao, Wusstig Rd, Batulo St, North Henry Kaiser, Quezon St, Mepa St, Rizal St, Mabini St, Chalan Ottot, Chalan Kareta, Mogfog
• Yigo, various areas including at or near East Gayinero, Agafa Gumas, Chalan Padiron Lagu, Chalan Okso (Rte 15), Piga subdivision, Chalan Santa Ana, Chalan Ramirez, Agaga Ave, Chalan Cabesa, Mataguac, Tun Josen Diego, Toves St, Chalan Tun Luis Duenas, Chalan Enriquen Rosario, Marianas Terrance, Chalan Paharu, Anao
CENTRAL SECTOR
• Tamuning/Harmon, various areas including those at or near Summerville, Villa Rosario, Hemlani’s Apts
• Barrigada, various areas including those at or near Jalaguac St
• Asan-Maina, various areas
• Hagåtña, various areas
• Sinajana, various areas including Afame
• Agana Heights, various areas
• Mongmong-Toto-Maite, various areas including those at or near Paterno St, Robat St, Harvest
• Mangilao, various areas including Latte Hts, Banyon Hts, Kinney’s Dr, Pagat, Dormitory Dr
• Ordot-Chalan Pago, various areas including those at or near Famha, Santa Cruz Dr, Kongga Rd
• Piti, various areas including those at or near Halsey Dr, Turner Rd
SOUTHERN SECTOR
• Yona, various areas including those at or near Manenggon Valley, Chaco Rd
• Talofofo, various areas
• Hågat, various areas
• Santa Rita, various areas
• Inalåhan, various areas
• Målesso, various areas
• Humåtak, various areas
Subscribe to
our digital
monthly edition