THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp. management on Wednesday asked the CUC board to extend the power supply agreement with Aggreko for an additional 18 months in the amount of $1.6 million.
CUC power plant manager Richard Cano also mentioned the need for an additional $1.2 million for the overhaul of the power plant’s Engine 7.
He told the board that the fourth extension of Aggreko’s fourth contract will end on July 26, 2021.
There has been a delay in the overhaul of Engine 7, he said, but it may be completed in mid-September 2021.
He is recommending the extension of Aggreko’s contract up to the end of November 2022.
He said the extension is needed because while the engine overhaul is expected to be completed in mid-September, the foundation will also have to be repaired for about two months.
Cano said there is also an ongoing negotiation for the replacement of Engine 5.
“It takes about six months to finalize everything and another six months for the delivery so a total of about 12 months,” he said.
Cano said Saipan needs 33MW of power supply, adding that the peak load is 37MW.
Currently, the plant is restricted to 36MW with an 8MW reserve supply and 12MW provided by Aggreko.
Cano said the overhaul of Engine 1 will start by mid-October and end in February next year.
He said the retrofit will take two months and the overhaul will take four months.
“Retrofit” means they are going to install a new turbocharger to increase the efficiency of the generator, he added.
The retrofit for Engine 3 is set for February to April next year, and this will be followed by a similar retrofit for Engine 2, Cano said.
Aggreko’s initial contract was to provide temporary power for 90 days while CUC’s generator engines were overhauled and repaired. The contract was extended in January 2020 for another 90 days, and then extended three more times.
CUC acting executive director Betty Terlaje told the board that they now need an additional $1.6 million for the extension of the Aggreko contract and $1.2 million for the overhaul of Engine 7.
The CUC board then went into executive or closed-door session to discuss the funding requests of CUC management.
The chair of the CUC board is Miranda Manglona and its members are Matthew Holley, Janice Tenorio and Jovita Paulino.
Attending a Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board meeting on Wednesday were water and wastewater department engineer Larry Manacop, power plant manager Richard Cano, water and wastewater department engineer Yvonne Ogumoro, acting CUC executive director Betty Terlaje, and human resources manager Vivian Santos.
Photo by Bryan Manabat
