The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is scrambling to reconnect water wells to the island power grid as the Federal Emergency Management Agency begins withdrawing emergency generators ahead of a July 9 deadline tied to the expiration of the current 100% federal cost-share arrangement.
During the CUC board meeting last June 11, executive director Kevin Watson said the utility is working with FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to transition water wells and sewage lift stations back to grid power while avoiding major service disruptions.
“The reason these discussions were held is because of the impact it will have on the financial health of CUC if we see the need and decide to keep the generators past July 9th when the 100% reimbursement or coverage would end,” Watson said.
Watson said FEMA informed CUC that if generators remain after the reimbursement period expires, the utility could face costs of approximately $120,000 per day as a package.
“Unless all the FEMA generators are decommissioned and packed up and off of our premises, it would be $120,000 per day,” Watson said. “We can't do that.”
The challenge, Watson said, is that CUC still lacks enough transformers to reconnect critical water infrastructure to the utility's electrical system.
“Our issue or problem is that we don't have the right transformers—or any transformers needed—to hook our grid to the wells and sewage lift stations,” he said.
According to Watson, CUC needs approximately 45 large transformers for water wells and another 24 for sewage lift stations. The utility has requested additional assistance from the Guam Power Authority while awaiting new equipment shipments.
“Our first group will arrive June 16,” Watson said.
He added that additional transformer shipments are expected every four to five days afterward and estimated that all wells could be connected to grid power within about 30 days.
Watson said FEMA began removing generators from some facilities earlier this month as part of a coordinated effort to prepare equipment for future deployments. He noted that the utility had already experienced reduced water production in some areas after several generators were disconnected.
The issue prompted a lengthy discussion among board members, with chair Allen Perez arguing that maintaining water service must take precedence over the potential financial burden.
“I don't think we could have that disconnect or that gap where we're going to let our people in those certain areas,” Perez said. “If that's the cost that we have to incur, then we incur that cost.”
Perez later directed management to communicate with FEMA and request that generators serving water wells remain in place until permanent electrical connections can be restored.
Board members said they would seek discussions with FEMA, the Governor's Office and lawmakers regarding potential funding assistance should the utility incur additional costs while completing the transition.
Separately, chief financial officer Betty Terlaje provided an update on CUC's cash position as the utility continues to manage recovery expenses following Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
The board also agreed to petition the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission to remove the current fuel adjustment charge cap, which officials said limits CUC's ability to fully recover fuel costs. Board members said lifting the ceiling, currently about 44 cents per kilowatt-hour, would provide greater financial flexibility as recovery efforts continue.
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