CUC is asking the federal government to award it a stimulus grant of $7.5 million to fix the Saipan grid.
“The power distribution system for 26 villages on the island of Saipan is severely dilapidated and the field distribution pole hardware has become unreliable causing both voltage drops and lengthy outages…. The power distribution grid maintenance program has been grossly unfunded for over three years and without proper maintenance the distribution grid has reached a critical state,” CUC said in its report.
The agency said the over 80 million kilowatt hours of power outages recorded in 2007 is the equivalent of nearly a quarter of the total energy it produces on Saipan, the center of business activities in the commonwealth.
Last year, the problem with the distribution grid resulted in 471 power outages on Saipan or about 5.2 outages per day for the first quarter of 2009.
“The increasingly intermittent power [interruption] that Saipan has been experiencing for the past several years is due in large part to breakdowns in the distribution grid, many of which could have been avoided with timely repairs and maintenance,” CUC said in its report.
“Power cannot reach consumers effectively without a properly maintained distribution grid, potentially wasting the investment in the power plant. Each time the distribution grid fails, fuel used to power the generators is also wasted because the power produced cannot reach consumers,” it added.
The business sector has complained about the ill impact of blackouts on their operations.
Residents, too, are not spared from the effects of blackouts which damage their electronic appliances, cause inconvenience, spoil their food, and aggravate their health problems.
Aside from the poor grid line, CUC is also having problems with its aging wooden power poles around the islands.
“A poorly maintained distribution grid creates dangerous on-site situations for residents. If the infrastructure is not maintained properly, residents are not protected from high voltage lines. For example, the grid in the Kagman homesteads has primary [high voltage] lines mounted on top of poles with ceramic insulators, a standard arrangement,” CUC said.
Because the CNMI is located in the typhoon alley directly north of Guam, its aging facilities, including the wooden poles, are vulnerable to breakdown in case of strong typhoons.
CUC proposes to replace all wooden poles with concrete poles once the federal government awards it the grant.
“Many of the power distribution poles are wood. This type of pole routinely fails during heavy winds. The newer pre-stressed concrete poles provide for a more reliable system during typhoons. In addition, there are heavy duty insulators that can be used to prevent lines from breaking them during strong typhoon condition,” it said.
