CUC: Generators on site; phased restoration to Tinian could begin this weekend

Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) executives told the Senate on May 20 that temporary generators delivered by U.S. Army Corps personnel have arrived in the CNMI and could begin powering critical facilities on Tinian within days, while full island-wide distribution remains weeks away.

Ken Watson, CUC executive director, said a generator from the 240th Army Corps battalion arrived Monday evening and that CUC power managers and mechanics are on-site with Army Corps personnel to install and test the unit. "The engine, generator from the 240 ninth Army Corps battalion arrived on Monday evening," Watson said, adding that crews expect to have the engine operational and testing within days and that full distribution could take up to three weeks as distribution materials arrive and are installed.

CUC and legislative members described a staged approach to reconnecting service. Watson and CFO Betty Turley said feeder 3 has been prepared on the distribution side and can provide power to critical sites — including the shelter (elementary school), hospital, DPS and courthouse — as soon as crews can load-test and confirm safe connections. "Feeder 3 has already been dressed up and prepped the distribution side," Turley said, describing it as the feeder that serves the jurisdiction's most critical facilities.

CUC said the arriving temporary fleet includes multiple engine units rated roughly 1.0—1.2 megawatts each; three arriving units have a combined nominal capacity near 2.7 megawatts, and there are additional IBB units estimated at roughly 2 megawatts. CUC staff emphasized the units will be phased into service so that the plant and transmission can be protected while crews repair laterals and transformers.

Materials and logistics remain the principal constraints. CUC reported that a first batch of concrete poles and a shipment of transformers are en route, but manufacturing lead times and shipping delays have limited how many households can be reconnected immediately. CUC said it has some wooden poles in stock on Tinian that crews will erect to restore service quickly and then replace with concrete poles later under a mitigation (Category F) program.

CUC also signaled short-term technical steps intended to speed testing. Turley said six heat blowers will be used next week to dry wet engines and that structural concerns with the power-plant roof may require temporary internal covers or tarping while structural engineers assess the plant. "The testing is also dependent on the repair of the roof," Turley said.

Officials urged residents to follow pre-energization advisories. The chair asked whether residents should switch off main breakers before planned energization; CUC staff advised issuing an advisory hours before any scheduled test or energization and asked residents to power off main breakers if they are not using generator backup.

Next steps and oversight: Senators said they expect daily or near-daily updates until restoration nears completion. The Senate set a follow-up meeting for May 27 to monitor progress. The Senate and CUC exchanged specific requests for transformer counts and maps of feeder readiness, and CUC committed to provide an inventory and distribution map by email to the delegation for public dissemination.

Details that CUC said remain to be confirmed include the exact transformer counts to be moved to Tinian, the outcome of structural engineering assessments on the plant roof, and the final fuel logistics for temporarily provided generators operated by external forces. CUC officials warned that theft of conductors (copper line wire) discovered after initial inventories will slow recovery and that the public should not remove or attempt to sell utility materials.