But at the same time the leadership accused the administration of lying about the Aggreko contract by making assurances that the monthly rental fee of $336,000 for the 10-megawatt generators will be paid by CUC.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said when the Aggreko contract was presented to the Legislature it was made clear that CUC would be able to pay it but now, “Here’s Charles (Reyes Jr., the press secretary) spinning it again, saying, they don’t have the money.”
Palacios said there is no doubt that a “bridge” power supply is needed while the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s antiquated power engines are being repaired.
But he said the administration must be transparent in its transactions to save the public from potential problems in the long run.
“We need to procure this ‘bridge’ power generation to go about overhauling the engines. This should have been done from the beginning. But it’s starting to appear that we didn’t go through the process again. The Legislature is ready to assist (the administration) but let’s be truthful,” he said and noted that losing bidders may file protests.
He did not identify them.
Vice Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan and chairman of the House Public Utilities, Transportation and Communication, said, “We were called in after the fact.”
Palacios said it is important to establish that the 2006 request for proposals was still valid before Aggreko was selected.
He noted that the Public Utilities Commission must be consulted about the contract as well as its impact on consumer rates.
In a separate interview, Reyes said lawmakers should stop the bickering and instead help the administration find solutions.
“First, let me say that I regret that some members of the Legislature seem to be more interested in assigning blame or raising objections instead of genuinely trying to help the administration solve our power crisis. We have a very serious power crisis,” the press secretary said.
“Do they want to help us solve the crisis or do they want to criticize us and continue to engage in partisan politics leading up to the next general election next year? What is the objective here? An electoral victory or fixing our power crisis?” he added.
He said the contract with Aggreko was made pursuant to an RFP and all laws and regulations were respected.
“The contract was properly reviewed by our attorneys,” he said.
