07 Oct 2011

American Samoa is an unincorporated 

territory of the United States. It has a 

total land area of 77 square miles and 

a population of approximately 65,000 

people. American Samoa is located in 

the South Pacific Ocean 2,400 miles 

from Hilo, Hawaii, and 4,500 miles 

from San Diego, California.

The Satala power plant is a 

13,215-square-foot building located 

on the coastline in the village of 

Satala on the island of Tutuila. Prior to 

the tsunami, it was a primary source 

of power for the shipyard, the 

waterfront industrial area, and the 

power grid on the eastern end of the 

island. In total, the Satala power plant 

provided 23 megawatts of power to 

American Samoa. 

Critical Infrastructure Restoration: The Three-Phased Power 

Restoration Plan After the American Samoa Tsunami

SUMMARY 

The Joint Field Office (JFO) collaborated with the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA)

and other partners to develop and implement a three-phased power restoration plan for

American Samoa after an earthquake, tsunami, and flooding struck the islands on 

September 29, 2009. The plan outlined a three-phase response plan to address American 

Samoa‟s short-, mid-, and long-term power needs.

BACKGROUND

The American Samoa Tsunami

On Tuesday, September 29, 2009, at 6:48 a.m. 

Samoa Standard Time (SST), an earthquake with an 

8.1 magnitude struck in the Pacific Ocean 

approximately 120 miles from the Samoan islands. 

The earthquake generated tsunami waves, the first 

of which struck the American Samoan island of 

Tutuila at 7:08 a.m. SST. The tsunami flooding 

resulted in 34 deaths, and 131 people reported to 

hospitals or clinics with injuries. Thousands of 

people were left without shelter or food, while more 

than 1.2 million cubic feet of debris was strewn 

across the islands. 

Critical infrastructure throughout American Samoa 

suffered major damage due to tsunami wave

inundation. Flood waters reached up to 9 feet at the 

Satala power plant. Saltwater and oil residue from 

transformers entered the generator engines, 

rendering many of them nonfunctional. Damage to 

the plant‟s power supply capability left half of the 

American Samoa population without sufficient electrical power. 

The Federal Response to the Tsunami

The Federal response began immediately after the earthquake in American Samoa, before 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‟s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center 

issued the first tsunami warning for this disaster. Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) Region IX activated its Regional Response Coordination Center to level 1 at 

6:57 a.m. SST (11:57 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time). The National Response Coordination 

Center also activated to level 1 with selected emergency support functions (ESFs). FEMA 

Region IX worked with American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono to submit an expedited 
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For more information on logistical 

movement and coordination during 

the American Samoa earthquake and 

tsunami, please see the Lessons 

Learned Information Sharing Lesson 

Learned Logistics Movement and 

Coordination: Deploying a Staging 

Group Supervisor to Provide 

Management Support to Incident 

Support Bases and Staging Areas.

request for a major disaster declaration. President Barack Obama issued the declaration 

(FEMA-1859-DR) hours after the tsunami on September 29, 2009. In addition, the Federal 

government established an air bridge to push critical emergency resources to American 

Samoa. The air bridge offered the quickest means for moving Federal resources across the 

large distance between American Samoa and the continental United States and Hawaii. 

Response to the Power Outages

The loss of the Satala power plant left the 

island of Tutuila without sufficient electrical 

generation for up to 50% of its customer 

base. The territory also suffered frequent 

rolling blackouts for a month after the 

disaster. To address immediate power needs, 

the ASPA installed several small standby 

generators at critical facilities, such as 

hospitals and water pressure boosting 

stations. The ASPA also increased the Tafuna 

power plant‟s reserve capacity from 80% to 

near 100%. This additional power demand on 

the Tafuna power plant increased the 

potential for a collapse of the territory‟s 

entire power supply. Once the ASPA triaged 

the power loss, ESF-3 (public works and 

engineering) and its partners collaborated 

with the ASPA to develop and implement a three-phased power restoration plan to 

compensate for the loss of the Satala power plant.

GOALS

The three-phased restoration plan helped successfully restore power to American Samoa 

without causing further damage to the island‟s infrastructure. The plan provided the 

framework for ASPA and response organizations to restore power to critical facilities, while

limiting the number of blackouts throughout the island of Tutuila. 

DESCRIPTION

Development of the Power Restoration Plan

FEMA, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as part of 

ESF-3, private sector entities, and ASPA 

representatives assembled a power restoration task 

force to assess damages at the Satala power plant

and to develop a strategy to restore power in 

American Samoa. After assessing the damage to the 

plant, the task force identified several potential 

challenges relating to restoring power to the islands. 

It needed to prioritize where to install the 

generators and to determine the most effective way to connect them to the damaged grid. 

In addition, the task force recognized the logistical challenges related to transportating both 

large and small generators from the continental United States to American Samoa, a 

distance of approximately 6,900 miles.

Damage to the Satala Power Plant
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Transportation of One-Megawatt

Generator

On October 4, 2009, the task force developed the three-phased plan to restore the 

American Samoa power infrastructure to its pre-tsunami operational level. The plan outlined

the acquisition, delivery, and installation of priority generators at critical locations across the 

territory, as well as the reduction of the Tafuna power plant‟s overall operational capacity.

The plan consisted of three phases:

 Phase I: Implement a “band-aid” to damaged power infrastructure. Install up to 

twenty-three 24 – 640-kilowatt generators with transformers to provide triage power 

delivery to critical facilities. 

 Phase II: Reduce the Tafuna power plant operational load by installing up to ten 

1-megawatt generators in strategic locations utilizing external fuel tanks and 

transformers. This was designed to stabilize the power grid for a period of up to 

18 months or longer.

 Phase III: Repair damages to, or replace, the Satala power plant.

Phase I Implementation

Phase I required airlift operations for the delivery and the installation of generators leased 

by FEMA and ASPA. FEMA logistics personnel coordinated the air shipment of 46 small- to 

mid-sized FEMA generators and 10 leased generators. USACE personnel and ASPA staff 

members installed these generators at critical life-saving and life-sustaining locations. These 

locations included public facilities, shelters, government and community agencies, sewer 

and water treatment plants, emergency management and response facilities, and schools. 

Phase II Implementation

Phase II began on October 27, 2009, when 

ASPA contracted for twenty-seven 1-megawatt

generators and worked with FEMA to install 

them at the Satala and Tafuna power plants. 

These generators provided interim power to 

American Samoa for 18 to 24 months. This 

alleviated the strain that had been placed on 

the Tafuna power plant and provided critical 

power coverage until the Satala power plant 

could be repaired during Phase III. 

On November 27, 2009, FEMA and ASPA 

activated eighteen 1-megawatt generators at 

the Satala power plant and another 

nine generators at the Tafuna power plant. 

This ensured that American Samoa never suffered a complete power failure as a result of 

the disaster and that power was fully restored by early December. As of June 2011, ASPA 

continues to utilize leased generators to compensate for the loss of power that resulted 

from the tsunami.

Phase III

ASPA expects that Phase III of the power restoration will take several years to fully 

implement due to permitting challenges and legal issues. In 2010, ASPA identified a 

1.024-acre property to rebuild the Satala power plant. ASPA owns the land and has leased it 

to StarKist Tuna since March 2000. ASPA selected this location because the American 

Samoa government had already issued some of the same permits necessary to locate a 

power plant for the StarKist Tuna plant.
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As of June 2011, ASPA is carrying out the demolition of the old Satala power plant while it

continues to work on permitting for the new plant, which it estimates to cost between

$52 and $92 million. In addition, ASPA has replaced the generators from Phase II with more 

cost effective generators. ASPA plans to complete construction of the new plant in 2 to 4

years.

REQUIREMENTS

Keys to Success

Logistical Support

The Federal government established an air bridge to 

push critical emergency resources to American Samoa. 

The air bridge offered the quickest means for moving 

Federal resources across the large distance between 

American Samoa and the continental United States and 

Hawaii. In addition, the Federal government established 

a sea bridge to support long-term power restoration 

needs. 

Private and Public Sector Coordination

USACE, DOE, and their partners coordinated effectively 

during the planning and execution of the power

restoration plan. Each agency provided valuable 

information in its area of expertise.

Funding

FEMA provided funding for the power restoration plan. 

As of October 2010, FEMA is spending approximately 

$7.6 million on temporary power generation (Phase II). 

However, cost could exceed $25 million because 

temporary generators are being rented. In addition, 

FEMA‟s public assistance program plans to pay 90 % of

the costs to rebuild the Satala power plant. 

REFERENCES

Federal Emergency Management Agency. The American Samoa Earthquake, Tsunami, and 

Flooding (FEMA-1859-DR) Joint Field Office and Pan-Pacific Regional Response Coordination 

Center After Action Report/Improvement Plan. 09 Sep 2010.

Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General. American Samoa 2009 

Earthquake and Tsunami: After Action Report. 25 Oct 2010.

https://www.llis.dhs.gov/docdetails/details.do?contentID=47725

Sagapolutele, Fili. “ASPA Contracts New Company for Temporary Power Generation.”

SamoaNews.com. 08 Mar 2011.

http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=24288&edition=1299578400

Sagapolutele, Fili. “US Homeland Security believes territory should be formally designated 

„high risk‟.” SamoaNews.com. 03 Jun 2011.

http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=27026&;edition=1307095200&newssec

tion=LocalNews

Wingate, Mark. Disaster Program Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Pacific 

Division. Interview with Lessons Learned Information Sharing, 05 May 2011.

Inspection of Installed 

Generators
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