She has asked CUC Executive Director Tony Muna to “confirm [if] the…generators…do not comply with [the Environmental Protection Agency] Clean Air requirements and might not even be ‘permittable’ by EPA.”
“Have you yet communicated directly with EPA?” she asked in a letter to Muna. “I am concerned not only about new compliance issues that may arise for CUC and the CNMI, but also about potential fines for which CUC may be liable in the future.”
Sablan, Ind.-Saipan, also noted that “one of the conditions in the Aggreko contract was that CUC would provide treated water at CUC’s expense. Is CUC presently providing treated water to Aggreko?”
In his presentation before lawmakers on Thursday, Muna said CUC’s Power Plants 1, 2 and 4 produce only 28 megawatts, but Aggreko’s generators are providing an additional 15 megawatts.
The island’s peak demand, he added, is 41 megawatts.
He said the installation of the Aggreko generators eliminated the daily power outages that were in effect during the last six months and allowed CUC to carry out “some emergency repairs of the operational units #3, 6 and 8 while…going through a procurement process for the overhaul of two units (Nos. 7 and 5 at Power Plant 1).”
According to Muna, CUC’s invitation for bids for the overhaul of units 5 and 7 was closed on Thursday. Once a bidder is chosen, he added, “the rehabilitation…will be initiated beginning with unit #7.”
Muna also reported that “MAN Diesel was awarded the contract for the crankshaft replacement for Unit No. 1 and supply of spare parts, after their assessment — issues surfaced midway in the contract with foundation bolts and requirement of additional major parts.”
He said CUC is “trying to source the parts from the two [original equipment manufacturers, Mitsubishi & MAN] including the repair of the foundation. The work shall be finalized including the decision to continue with [the original equipment manufacturer] overhaul after detailed assessment.”
The Fitial administration has said that its decision to rent the Aggreko generators allows CUC to meet the island’s power needs, but critics describe the governor’s move as a costly, short-term “band-aid” solution to long-standing problems.
