CUC says Army Corps gensets, incoming contractors aim to restore Tinian power; senators press for timelines

The Senate continued its weekly meeting on June 3 to press the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation on power restoration and supply logistics for Tinian.

Executive Director Kevin Watson told the Senate that the 249th Army Corps of Engineers has deployed generators and a communications tower to Tinian and that a contracted private crew from Guam, Polyphase, is scheduled to arrive June 7 with an additional bucket truck and linemen to assist distribution work. "We have made some progress in Tinian with the 249th Army Corps Engineers putting some engines there and a formal communications tower," Watson said.

Watson said the Army Corps gensets are producing about "1 and 1/2 to 2" megawatts, while pre‑typhoon demand on the island had been about 2.5 megawatts. He told senators the transmission and distribution work could be finished in "2 weeks or less," which would enable broader reconnection once feeders and transformers are installed.

The executive director also said CUC expects a shipment of transformers and concrete poles to depart South Korea on June 8 to replenish distribution hardware and that additional bucket trucks were being mobilized. "We have five additional and five more will be arriving this weekend," he said when asked about equipment on island. Watson said CUC is rebuilding some transformers on Saipan in the interim and will allocate those where the need arises.

Watson said a team of Army Corps structural and mechanical engineers, working with FEMA, arrived to assess whether the damaged power plant should be temporarily repaired or replaced. He told the chamber the assessment should be complete by the middle of June and that a mid‑term generation plan — including possible rented Aggreko units — could be in place by the latter part of July.

On contracting and funding, Watson said CUC contracted Polyphase directly and "we hope to get the federal government's reimbursement" but that reimbursement is not guaranteed. He also said CUC considered a rapid‑mobilization contractor whose mobilization alone was estimated at about "20 plus million dollars," but FEMA had not approved bringing that firm on board. Senators asked about previously reported statements that CUC would seek to borrow up to $40 million; Watson said CUC lacks those funds and that borrowing requires legislation originating in the House before the Senate may act.

A member of the public, Steven Sablan, urged better customer communication and scheduling, saying his 94‑year‑old father in Papago still lacks power and that repeated calls to the CUC trouble desk provided no tentative reconnection schedule. "He does not have power to this day," Sablan said, urging CUC to reach out to affected customers.

Senators also raised a constituent report that parts of Carolina Heights remain without water for roughly 50 days. Watson said he was not aware of a multi‑household outage there and said he would follow up with the resident manager to get details.

The chamber recessed the CUC portion of the meeting and directed Watson to return with more precise timelines, transformer counts and other follow‑up information at 10:30 a.m. the next morning.