Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said the House of Representatives and the Senate are also convinced that the CNMI should seek the help of federal agencies to ensure a transparent and clean bidding process.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial vetoed on Monday House Bill 16-77, or the CUC Private Sector Partnership Act of 2008.
He said the bill has provisions that would create financial problems for CUC.
According to the governor, the bill requires the private company that will take over CUC to infuse fresh capital of up to $250 million. This, he added, would translate into a rate impact.
But Palacios said the amount is just a ballpark figure and should not be used as an issue to derail the privatization project.
He said the other concerns mentioned by the governor could have been addressed later on.
What’s important, he added, is that the privatization process must be done in a competitive, transparent and clean process.
“We can come back with a stronger language,” Palacios told Variety. “How we go about the privatization process is very critical. We have to ensure a clean and transparent process. No more sole-source contracts. We should also ask federal agencies to assist us.”
“Our biggest challenge is how it can be done in a clean process,” he added.
Palacios said even though the Aggreko generators are now producing electricity, “we must remember that this is just a temporary measure.”
He said the administration should now complete the rehabilitation of Saipan’s main source of energy — Power Plant 1.
The cost of renting Aggreko’s generators for 12 months is $6 million.
