By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board on Thursday, Jan. 8 voted to advance an appeal filed by AP Energy LLC over its disqualification from a major solar-and-battery procurement for Saipan, Tinian and Rota, while unanimously rejecting a separate protest by PKM Summit Ridge and declining to revisit a request from Tang’s Corporation.
Board members present were Chair Allen Perez, Vice Chair Donald Browne, and members Miranda Manglona, Rebecca White, Simon Sanchez and Rosemond Santos.
Meeting in executive or closed-door session before taking action, CUC legal counsel Mike Ernest told the board that the discussion focused solely on “the procedural postures of two procurement appeals” pending before the board.
The first action concerned Appeal 25-001-PS, filed by PKM Summit Ridge. Santos moved to support the executive director’s finding that the protest was not properly filed and that the board lacked jurisdiction to act. The motion passed unanimously. No representatives of PKM Summit Ridge were present.
The board then turned to Appeal 25-002-PS, filed by AP Energy. Perez said the appropriate step was to allow the appeal process to continue and return for board action at a later meeting. The board again voted unanimously.
A separate request from Tang’s Corporation, which had sought reconsideration after being deemed not qualified, was not placed on the agenda for action.
Public comments
Representatives from AP Energy and Tang’s Corporation addressed the board during the public comment period.
AP Energy managing member Perry Inos urged the board to allow the company to advance to Phase Two, arguing that the request for proposals was not properly applied. He said the RFP allowed proponents to submit “audited financial statements or annual reports,” and that no addendum was issued removing that option.
Inos said AP Energy — already mobilized in the CNMI with active projects and local labor — should be evaluated on its merits rather than disqualified on a disputed procedural basis.
“This appeal is not a request for an award or special treatment,” Inos said. “It is simply a request that AP Energy be allowed to proceed to Phase Two so our proposal can be fully and fairly considered.”
Tang’s Corporation representatives Kevin Tang and Tom Salas also spoke, asking the board to reconsider the company’s disqualification. Tang’s had previously been found not qualified and sought reconsideration, but the board did not take up the matter.
After the vote, Inos noted that AP Energy was the only company to file a timely and properly filed protest, and said the board’s action allows the appeal to move forward to a future meeting.
About the procurement
The procurement, CUC-RFP-25-021, seeks independent power producers to design, finance, construct, own, operate and maintain utility-scale solar photovoltaic systems with battery energy storage across Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
The project aims to replace aging diesel generators, reduce fuel dependence, stabilize long-term electricity costs and increase renewable energy penetration while maintaining grid reliability.
CUC Executive Director Kevin Watson has previously estimated that construction of a 20-megawatt solar farm with battery storage on Saipan would cost between $60 million and $90 million, noting the system could supply nearly half of the island’s current power demand.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
