Power, water crews work around-the-clock to restore service

It's been thirteen years since a major storm has hit our island, and if you were here to experience the aftermath of previous storms you are no stranger to the dark days that followed, as it took weeks for power to be restored. It has been two days since Typhoon Dolphin passed and already many residents have power. This is all thanks to the hard working crews of the Guam Power Authority who are working tirelessly to get things back to normal.

"Everybody is pulling 14-hour, sometimes 16-hour shifts to be able to make sure we get these things back," said Lieutenant Governor Ray Tenorio. Even before Typhoon Dolphin reached landfall, Guam Power Authority crews were already out addressing power outages until they could not safely do so. And once the closest point of approach passed, crews hit the streets and have been out since 2am Saturday morning.

"They're spending time away from their families, their families don't have water or power like some of us, we're trying to get to the point of normalcy, and these are the champions that are restoring this, in my mind in record time, in two days, 48 hours, we've come a long way," he added.

On Sunday alone, power to over 10,000 homes was restored however there are still pockets of areas without power. And GPA crews continue to make repairs to various lines throughout the island to restore power to those pocket areas. Tenorio added, "We've got 92% of the feeders back in place and we have a small population of individuals that are still being restored."

But power was not the only utility to go out as water outages were also reported throughout the island. And like GPA, crews the Guam Waterworks Authority crews have also been working around the clock to restore water. According to acting spokesperson for utilities Heidi Ballendorf, almost all of water wells are now on island power and with this GWA will be able to restore water to all customers.