In his letter to CUC Executive Director Antonio S. Muna, Cruz said, “Let’s have the 16th Legislature draft a resolution to ask the [U.S.] military to fly these [generators] on board a C-130….We are in crisis. We don’t have 30 days to wait the current engines are near total collapse.”
According to Muna, the Aggreko generators will arrive during the middle part of September this year.
He said it will take another six days to install the generators to the power grid on island.
Yesterday, engines # 2, 3, and 6 were the only engines online at Power Plant 1, with engine #8 down due to various mechanical problems.
Cruz said engine #8 is suffering from a cracked foundation, adding that engine #6 is likewise experiencing a cracked foundation.
“We fear that there is not enough time — we will go blackout before this containers arrive,” the Taotao Tano president said. “I don’t think these engines are going to last for the entire month [of August]. We suggest immediate action.”
He urged the Legislature to introduce a resolution requesting the U.S. military to airlift the Aggreko generators.
“I do not disagree with trying to fly in [the] gensets [generator sets],” Muna said, but added that it is beyond his authority to order the generators be airlifted. “It is an executive decision and beyond my authority.”
CUC signed a contract for temporary power service with the U.K.-based Aggreko International Projects Ltd. on June 19.
