One week after Super Typhoon Bavi, Guam’s public utility infrastructure has approached near-total recovery, with the island-wide power system restoring 96% of customer demand and the water utility bringing 95 wells back online.
The restoration efforts received a significant logistical boost Tuesday night with the early arrival of eight utility bucket trucks from Saipan, where they had been deployed to assist in post-typhoon recovery following Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
According to the latest GPA power system status restoration release, the Guam Power Authority has energized 100% of its transmission lines, substations, and 67 distribution feeders. John Benavente, general manager of the Guam Power Authority, reported that the utility has 248 megawatts of total generation system capacity, which is adequate to meet the current island load of 193 megawatts.
To resolve remaining localized outages, 15 active crews are operating in 12-hour shifts to address single-phase issues, damaged transformers, and customer-side repairs. These recovery crews will soon be reinforced by the eight utility bucket trucks, which arrived at the Port of Guam approximately two hours ahead of schedule Tuesday night following a 12-hour barge trip from Saipan.
The GPA vehicles and crews were originally deployed to Saipan in April to assist with restoration efforts following Super Typhoon Sinlaku. The deployment represented the mutual aid policy of Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, and Lt. Gov Joshua F. Tenorio. “Guam has a well-documented history of sending our highly capable and widely respected utility crews to disasters elsewhere, both regionally and as far as away as the U.S. mainland and islands in the Caribbean,” Tenorio stated. “And it’s a two-way arrangement, as there have been disasters here when utility crews from near and far have come and helped us.”
The return of the vehicles was facilitated by a joint partnership among several government agencies, including the Port Authority of Guam, the Customs and Quarantine Agency, and the Guam Fire Department.
Leon Guerrero monitored the transit of the barge carrying the equipment throughout a day of recovery updates and meetings with federal officials, which included William Hague, principal deputy assistant secretary for insular, international, and ocean affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Hague sat in on a morning meeting during which an update on the return journey was presented to the governor and lieutenant governor. Following the arrival, the governor expressed appreciation in a late-night message to agency directors, noting, “We work together. This is what the Leon Guerrero—Tenorio administration does. Welcome home.”
Even without the returned vehicles, GPA restored power to 90% of the island within six days of returning to Condition of Readiness 4. Joyce Sayama, communications manager of the Guam Power Authority, emphasized that customers must obtain work clearances and complete repairs on their privately owned weatherheads before crews can reconnect their service.
In the water sector, the latest Guam Waterworks Authority water restoration efforts release indicates that approximately 1,550 customers out of 43,643 customer accounts remain without service. Miguel Bordallo, general manager of GWA, said that GWA has brought 92 wells online on the island-wide power system and three on generator power. GWA production crews completed repairs to a grounded motor at well F-13 in Machanao and are finalizing repairs to the Adacao well, which are expected to improve system pressure in Astumbo, Kaiser, and Mangilao.
Although 100% of booster pump stations and all wastewater treatment plants are operational, a precautionary boil water notice remains in effect for customers who lost service for 48 hours or more. Bordallo urged customers to comply with emergency water conservation measures, noting that inspectors are visiting homes and businesses to enforce a temporary ban on pressure washing and vehicle washing.
GWA has deployed 11 water tankers across several municipalities, including Barrigada, Chalan Pago-Ordot, Dededo, Mangilao, Talo'fo'fo, Yigo, and Yona, to support affected areas. Regular water quality testing is underway, and all 111 samples collected from July seven through July 13 have returned negative for bacterial contamination.
Recovery efforts are also progressing across other government services. The latest JIC recovery release announced that the Chalan Pago-Ordot Community Center was certified as a Tier II shelter on Tuesday, accommodating up to 250 residents under the management of the American Red Cross. The Department of Parks and Recreation has reopened the Northern Sports Complex gym and the Paseo Peninsula roadway, with the complex's pool scheduled to reopen on Thursday.
Additionally, the Department of Public Health and Social Services distributed approximately 660 bags of food commodities at Adelup, with further drive-through distributions scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Yigo and Saturday morning in Malojloj. The Northern Region Community Health Center has also resumed operations, offering extended walk-in hours through Friday. mbj
