HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam Power Authority says the island’s power is now between 96% and 99% restored and the utility will work on completing remaining efforts within the next week or so, if not by the end of the week, the utility said in a statement.
GPA is now in the third phase of restoration, which has proven to be the most difficult so far because it addresses areas heavily damaged by Typhoon Mawar. At the same time, GPA continues work on areas with weather-head damage, transformer problems and other power-related issues, the utility stated.
GPA had approached post-typhoon restoration efforts in phases since the passage of Typhoon Mawar at the end of May, the utility said.
The first phase addressed critical areas, such as hospital facilities, water wells and wastewater facilities.
The second phase, which began around early June, concentrated on restoring power to as many customers as possible in areas with minimal typhoon damage.
Phase 3 of the post-typhoon restoration process began June 20, and addressed areas with significant damage.
GPA had targeted 95% recovery by June 26, but missed the target by a few percentage points. The power utility finally reached 95% customer restoration on Monday, just before Independence Day. GPA reached 96% restoration on Wednesday, while the restoration percentage update for Thursday was pending as of press time.
The power utility will be moving on to a fourth phase of restoration about two weeks after Phase 3 is substantially completed. This phase will address power quality issues and streetlight repair or replacement. However, the utility is handling power quality issues simultaneously with Phase 3 repairs, according to the GPA statement.
On the other hand, GPA stated it doesn’t yet know how long streetlight repairs will take to complete, especially since the utility continues to work on restoring service for residents and businesses.
Discussions with the Consolidated Commission on Utilities on hardening the utility’s infrastructure can be expected after restoration is completed, GPA said.
Moreover, a provision in the House Armed Services Committee version of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act would require a study of Guam’s power grid reliability and resiliency. Guam Del. James Moylan, who proffered the amendment, has said this is the first step to obtaining federal funding to help harden utility infrastructure on Guam.
A Guam Power Authority crew works on a utility pole in Yigo on June 30, 2023.
