But this has not materialized and the power demand on Tinian has been stagnant and decreasing, Telesource CEO & President Nidal Z. Zayed told the Committees on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Telesource has never made money on Tinian while accumulating financial losses, Zayed said.
“Our losses will only increase next year and beyond,” he added.
To avert a potential crisis on Tinian, he said CUC should allow Telesource to help fix Saipan’s power problems.
“It is high time that CUC looks to the local market for solutions,” Zayed told lawmakers in a letter.
“Telesource and others in the CNMI can provide the solution. We are willing to compete with the larger international firms for this work if need be,” he said.
Telesource is willing to assume full operations and maintenance responsibility for the Saipan plants including enhancement and upgrade to the systems, he said.
Telesource and CUC do not have a “sweetheart deal” on Tinian, he added.
“Our financial records are available for review,” he said.
Despite incurring losses over the years, Zayed said, Telesource maintained a sense of hope, constantly invested in its power plant and upgraded its distribution grid.
Zayed said a new era of cooperation between the CNMI government and the local business community is the only way to improve the energy infrastructure in commonwealth.
He said Telesource can either complement the Tinian power plant with “similar world-class operations” on Saipan or allow Tinian’s power infrastructure and reliability to mirror the current situation on Saipan.
Expensive
Telesource and its partners have the technical, human and internal financial resources to “quickly relieve the people of Saipan from the burden of constant power outages and the expensive Aggreko contract,” Zayed said.
The CNMI government pays Aggreko over $500,000 a month for the use of the company’s generators.
Telesource can help and significantly reduce CUC’s costs and the power rates it charges, Zayed said.
“Political interests should be set aside and the CNMI Legislature should take the lead in creating the environment whereby local companies that clearly posses the capability to solve the power crisis are given a chance to do so.”
Zayed said CUC rejected and ignored the Telesource offer.
Telesource, he added, offered to waive over $1 million of accounts receivables in exchange for a renegotiated contract on Tinian to transfer 10 megawatts of excess power from Tinian to Saipan at the company’s own cost.
Telesource also offered to conduct a wind power energy study, and assist in the rehabilitation of Power Plant 1’s engines 5 and 7 on Saipan, he said.
He said Telesource did not even receive a courtesy response from CUC.
“Had some of our ideas and offers been at least discussed and given serious consideration, Saipan may not be where it is today,” Zayed said.
But Telesource is still willing to help “create a better future for the CNMI,” he added.
Variety was unable to get a comment from CUC Executive Director Tony Muna.
World class
Zayed invited the PUTC chairmen, Sen. Paul A Manglona, R-Rota, and Rep. Victor B. Hocog, Ind.-Rota, to visit the power plant on Tinian that Telesource manages.
Zayed said the Tinian plant is a world class facility.
Telesource, he added, has invested over $40 million on Tinian.
“The diamond of CUC’s power infrastructure is on Tinian,” he said.
“Tinian’s power plant, its upgraded and well-maintained transmission and distribution system, the state of the art technology in operating the plant, the international level training and safety measures to safeguard the workers, have no equal in the CNMI or in the region at large.”
