The Marshalls Energy Company said this week that a major cause of ongoing power outages on two remote islands is the lack of ship transport to deliver engines and parts to the islands.
MEC’s press release “on the current power situation across several of our service areas and the actions we are taking to restore reliable service” focuses on power issues on Jaluit, Kili and Ebeye — all of which have been or are facing unstable power situations.
“MEC wishes to make clear that the delay in getting backup generators to Kili and Jaluit was not due to sourcing the generators,” the release said. “These were ready and available at MEC. The delay was in securing a vessel to transport them to the outer islands.”
MEC updated the power situation on the three islands:
- Kili has been without power for some time due to generator problems. To restore service, MEC will be sending two backup generators to Kili on the Ministry of Public Works vessel MV Majuro. The vessel was scheduled to depart this week from Majuro. “One of the two is an MEC generator; the other is a government-owned Coelmo generator that our team was able to repair and bring back into service,” the utility said. “We will also be sending heavy equipment on the same trip to help move the generators from the vessel to the Kili power plant, as Kili currently has no working heavy equipment on-island.”
- Power on Jaluit has been running steadily for about four weeks, after MEC technicians repaired one of the two existing generators on the island. To improve reliability, MEC will be sending a smaller backup generator to Jaluit on the MV Majuro as part of the Kili trip, “providing additional support while we continue planning repairs on the second generator.”
Jaluit High School benefited from a recent visit of MEC engineers to the southern atoll.
“While our technicians were on Jaluit assisting with the power plant repairs, MEC also helped connect a backup generator for the Jaluit High School, which is now up and running,” MEC said. “The school’s generator requires a transfer switch to operate safely and properly. MEC has purchased this transfer switch and will deliver it to Jaluit (this week). Our technicians will install it while they are on-island, so the school has a reliable backup power source going forward. We are proud to support the students and staff of Jaluit High School.”
MEC said the difficulty the utility faced in securing a ship to deliver generators and equipment to Kili and Jaluit underscores the need for a vessel for MEC to be able to service these outer island locations.
“This situation reaffirms the pressing need for a dedicated vessel to serve exclusively the needs of our power plants, so that our outer island communities are not left waiting on third-party shipping schedules during power emergencies,” the utility said. “MEC will continue to advocate for this capability as a matter of national energy security.”