Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said Rear Adm. William French, the commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Marianas, has agreed to send the team to Saipan.
French and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial met last weekend on Guam.
Reyes said the U.S. Department of the Interior is funding the military’s assessment work.
The administration welcomes the federal assistance because it will provide a scientific assessment of the island’s power engines.
“The assessment will enable us to more intelligently deal with it,” the press secretary told Variety but did not specify when the team will arrive here.
Power Plant 1, the main source of electricity on Saipan, has eight engines but only three are functional.
Some of the generators from the U.K.-based Aggreko International Power Projects Ltd. have arrived but they won’t be up and running until Sept. 12.
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. will rent these generators, for at least a year, for $6 million.
Saipan needs some 41 megawatts of energy but CUC is producing less than half of this figure, resulting in daily blackouts.
