CUC outlines plan to restore power to Tinian within weeks but warns poles, shipping and logistics could delay full restoration

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation told the Senate on May 13 that temporary generation from the IBB Voice of America site and three flown-in generator units could restore power to Tinian within roughly two weeks, but the utility said limited transmission poles, manufacturing and shipping delays, and logistics remain the chief obstacles to full restoration.

Betty Terlahi, CUC chief financial officer and planner, said the IBB site can contribute roughly 1–2 megawatts but that transformer limits mean CUC plans to "run 1 megawatt at a time" from IBB while bringing in additional gensets. "The arrival of the gensets is estimated within a week's time, but we're estimating that power won't be restored to about 2 weeks out because of all the logistics that have to go into setting it up," Terlahi said.

Technical advisor Dave Ketchin described the mobilization timeline for the flown-in team. "I believe it's about roughly 5 days to a week for them to mobilize to Tinian. From there, it's another few days to actually make the connections, set up the protection, everything that needs to happen," he said.

CUC Executive Director Kevin Wasson and engineers told senators that the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal partners are coordinating to fly three generator units (totaling about 2.7 megawatts) to the island and that, combined with IBB's output, CUC expects to have capacity to serve the whole island once protection equipment and relays are installed. CUC staff emphasized the sequence matters: generation must be available and tied into the grid only after certain relay and distribution safety work is completed.

But CUC repeatedly warned that restoring distribution to customers depends on physical materials and line crews. The utility said inspectors counted approximately 111 damaged poles on Tinian and that about 54 poles were on the island and available for immediate use. Terlahi said a first batch of about 40 concrete poles was expected by around May 27, with subsequent shipments of 40–60 poles every two weeks, and that wooden poles held in U.S. East Coast yards awaited FEMA pickup.

Senators and the mayor raised concerns about manpower and contractor mobilization. CUC said it had a contract with a Guam-based crew (six linemen and two bucket trucks) pending attorney-general review and that crews would begin mobilizing once contracts and port/barge logistics were complete: "If we get that contract signed, let's say, today or tomorrow, they should start mobilizing as soon as that contract is signed," Terlahi said.

CUC also raised procurement and FEMA-reimbursement complications for equipment such as heaters used to dry engine components. "FEMA has a thing with buying these equipment. They're not reimbursable if we buy it, but they're reimbursable if we lease it even if it costs more than buying it," Terlahi said, noting the agency was trying to secure leased heaters rather than buy them outright so costs would be eligible for FEMA reimbursement.

Senators pressed CUC to prioritize concrete poles for long-term resilience and to use any leverage with GPA and FEMA to speed shipments. CUC said manufacturers cannot immediately meet earlier orders for large quantities of concrete poles and that funding is also a constraint — the utility noted that an order of roughly 300 concrete poles would cost approximately $4 million. CUC staff said they are pursuing a mitigation Category F funding request to finance more resilient pole replacement and future hardening projects.

On Saipan, CUC staff reported broader progress: water distribution is being restored islandwide (some areas remain on reduced schedules while crews remove air from lines), and Saipan had about 13 MW of current generation online versus a pre-storm peak near 38 MW, with primary distribution lines reported at roughly 90–93% energized; laterals and customer-level restoration await pole and conductor deliveries.

The Senate set a weekly continuation for updates: CUC and partners were asked to return Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. with progress reports on genset arrival, pole deliveries, contractor mobilization, and any changes to the schedule for fully reenergizing Tinian.