HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Consolidated Commission on Utilities approved several resolutions for the Guam Waterworks Authority and the Guam Power Authority on Tuesday night, including a joint resolution to update the credit card policy for the utilities.
The update was recommended by the Office of the Public Accountability in a recent audit. Management at GPA and GWA will also work with the Guam Department of Education on the Sen. Edward J. Cruz Medical Referral and Education Mileage Program.
Under this program, GPA and GWA are required to use their accrued airline frequent flyer mileage to send students to off-island sports competitions. However, according to conversations between commissioners and GWA staff at a work session in mid-August, GDOE had reportedly not adopted any procedures regarding that section of the program.
For GWA specifically, the CCU approved a charge-off for about $887,000 in receivables deemed uncollectable. These receivables are four years old or older, according to Taling Taitano, GWA chief financial officer. These charge-offs are generally performed each year, and the last time the commission approved a write-off was in August 2022, Taitano added.
Surface water treatment plant
Commissioners also approved additional funding for the rehabilitation of the Ugum Surface Water Treatment Plant, GWA’s only surface water production facility, which services southern villages on Guam.
“This project is urgent and necessary,” GWA General Manager Miguel Bordallo said Tuesday. “It was needed before the typhoon. Since the typhoon, there’s more of a need now to conduct this rehabilitation and replace some of the major equipment at the Ugum Surface Water Treatment Plant.”
The CCU had previously authorized funding for the project, but it was $5 million below the lowest responsive bid received by GWA, which came at about $9.18 million from Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Corp. Ltd.
“We have identified additional funding that can be used for this, and we are seeking your approval to award, along with a 10% contingency, for a total funding authorization of $10.1 million,” Bordallo said, before the CCU would ultimately grant approval.
GWA anticipates the project will be completed within 425 calendar days.
Miguel Bordallo
