CUC assistant executive director for operations Abe Utu Malae said the island has only one engine online.
Rota Resort & Country Club supplies power to the third feeder in the Sinapalo area, he said, adding that the island’s peak load is only 1.8 megawatts.
Malae said the U.S. Department of the Interior and the local capital improvement projects office have allocated funds to improve Rota’s power plant.
This month, moreover, Rota CUC director Charles Manglona said they can purchase a new 1.5-MW Caterpillar engine and another 1.5-MW Caterpillar engine in January.
Manglona said a Mitsui engine is currently supplying Feeders 1 and 2 in Songsong.
“There will be enough power supply on island,” he said.
But CUC still needs power from Rota Resort, and this costs the government a significant amount of money, Manglona said without disclosing how much exactly.
He said CUC continues its repair work on the Detroit engine from Tinian and the overhauling of its existing Caterpillar engines.
The repair work was deferred due to the delay of the arrival of spare parts, he added.
Malae said Rota, like Saipan, has the same problem with pin insulators which will also be replaced with fiberglass pins.
Rota Municipal Council secretary Vicente M. Calvo said their power problem may not be felt by residents because of the power from Rota Resort.
But Calvo is hoping CUC can immediately address the power problem before it gets worse.
On Tinian, Malae said there was a problem with Engine 6 and a concurrent fire flash on the power lines at Lucy-Blanco-Marpo Heights and Queens Club.
There was a one-hour power outage on Wednesday evening, Nov. 25, he said.
“It is highly unusual for Tinian to have a power outage,” he added.
