Mawar damaged Yigo combustion turbine and Talofofo diesel unit back online
By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Two power units incapacitated by Typhoon Mawar last year are back online, generating 20 megawatts of capacity that will ease load shedding, the Guam Power Authority announced today.
The Yigo Combustion Turbine has returned to service providing 16 megawatts of capacity to the Island Wide Power System, GPA said.
The Yigo CT was out of service due to significant damage from Typhoon Mawar last year. Additional work on the unit will continue over the next two months to bring its total capacity to 20 MW, GPA said.
The Talofofo Diesel Unit 2 also returned to service yesterday providing 4 MW of capacity to the IWPS after not being available for several months.
The repair work was contracted to Baseload Power Generation Parts & Services, LLC, headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas.
"Despite facing setbacks from natural disasters and other delays, GPA's operations teams have effectively managed to minimize disruptions the past few months to our customers in the face of a generation capacity shortfall,"s said John Benavente, GPA's general manager.
"We remain committed to maintaining operational efficiency and enhancing our power capacity as we work toward the commissioning of the Ukudu Power Plant on Sept. 15, 2025," he added.
The Ukudu project was initially scheduled to be commissioned this month, but last year's supertyphoon, the strongest to hit Guam in 20 years, stalled the project's progress.
Typhoon Mawar, which punched through Guam on May 24, 2023,
caused major damage to the island's utility infrastructure, resulting in an unstable power supply for several months.
GPA said the restoration of the Yigo CT is part of its comprehensive strategy to address the island's energy capacity shortfall.
Officials said restoring the turbine to the grid substantially helps meet Guam's growing energy demand and alleviates load shedding amid the coming warmer months of the year.
GPA said plans to bring the Tenjo and Manengon Diesels back to service are on track.
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"Teams are conducting significant repairs and rehabilitation of the units and anticipate an additional 12 MW can be brought into the IWPS sometime in May," GPA said.
At the same time, the agency added, the 20 MW temporary power contract with Aggreko is progressing on time.
"GPA and Aggreko are working collaboratively and expeditiously to get
the units online by July. GPA continues to work on a multipronged approach to resolve its power system shortfall, increase generation capacity and mitigate load shedding," the agency said.
"We understand the importance of a stable and reliable power supply for residents and businesses, especially as we head into the summer season," said Jennifer Sablan, assistant general manager of operations.
However, she advised residents that Guam is not out of the woods. We thank our customers for assisting in monitoring their peak usage between 5 and 11 p.m. and ask for your continued support to beat the peak,” Sablan added.
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