By John O’Connor
For Variety
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The estimated cost to date for helping the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands recover power following Super Typhoon Sinlaku is about $5.8 million.
This includes $3.9 million for labor costs over 75 days and $1.9 million in estimated materials costs.
“I believe we can get this done by July 13… Similarly to Typhoon Yutu, they have committed to pay for this. When and so and so, we still have to work out the details,” GPA General Manager John Benavente said Friday, during a meeting with the Consolidated Commission on Utilities.
Sinlaku battered the Marianas in mid-April, and although Guam suffered powerful winds, the storm made direct passage near or over both Saipan and Tinian in the CNMI.
GPA has been helping the CNMI recover from the storm, just as it did when Super Typhoon Yutu struck the islands in 2018.
The power utility deployed a six-person forward team to Saipan on April 25, then sent 49 personnel as the first wave of support in early May. This group will return to Guam on Saturday, while a second wave comprising 30 personnel will depart beginning June 13.
In addition to personnel, GPA has provided various equipment and materials, including bucket trucks, concrete poles and transformers, according to a presentation Friday.
Commissioner Simon Sanchez, who is also a member of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board of directors, said GPA and the CCU will have to be very patient getting payment for Sinlaku assistance.
“They’re just getting some Yutu money. Finally, years after Yutu, right? … They are so financially strapped…they may run out of money by August,” Sanchez said.
“One of the things they’re trying to do is get $3 million just to pay (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) through the end of the month to keep generators at the water wells. FEMA is pulling generators from the water wells because they were told to because the manager was trying to be conservative,” Sanchez said.
He added that the CUC hopes to get as much as possible back online with GPA’s help, and then FEMA can take back the generators.
“Everything that we’re doing on our side is good. I just (saying) we’ll have to be very patient…on getting that money back,” Sanchez said.
