Acting Board Chair Donald Browne with board members Simon A. Sanchez, Rebecca White and Rufo Mafnas conduct a meeting in the CUC conference room on Wednesday afternoon with acting Executive Director Betty Terlaje.
THE Commonwealth Utilities Corporation board of directors has approved CUC management’s request to initiate an emergency procurement for a temporary power generation on Rota.
Acting board chair Donald Browne, board members Simon A. Sanchez, Rebecca White and Rufo Mafnas approved the request during a special board meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
At the meeting, CUC acting Executive Director Betty Terlaje informed the board that the Rota power plant was operating with one power-generating unit only.
“Unfortunately, the second back-up unit also encountered mechanical problems based on the assessment by our mechanics,” she said. “The required parts for the repair of that unit are not readily available. It will take weeks for the parts to get to Rota,” she added.
“This unfortunate turn of events has left us with one operating unit to supply power to the island, which is posing an imminent threat to the health and welfare of residents of Rota should the [remaining] engine unexpectedly go offline,” Terlaje said.
“Given the urgency of the situation and the potential risk associated with it, we are seeking the board’s approval to allow management to expedite an emergency procurement of a temporary power generation for the Rota power plant. We propose that this procurement be exempted from CUC’s current procurement regulations to minimize delays and assure a quick resolution to the issue,” Terlaje said.
She said CUC’s management will “initiate contact with reputable vendors capable of providing temporary power solutions that are suitable for Rota’s power requirements.”
She said CUC’s management will also “do our own due diligence to make sure that we will be awarding a provider who is most responsive to the situation [while] considering the reasonableness of the costs as well.”
She said in the meantime, the Department of Public Lands has authorized CUC to utilize Rota Resort’s power engine.
In an interview after the meeting, Terlaje said the board’s approval means that they don’t have to follow the standard source selection process. They can just contact vendors and tell them about CUC’s need for immediate temporary power, she added.
“From there, we’ll look at who’s providing the best solution and we can award it without having to wait for a long process of bidding evaluations, negotiations, and all of that. It’s for temporary generation,” Terlaje said.
“The emergency procurement is for us to find a company or vendor that can bring an engine to Rota for temporary [power] generation while we overhaul the engine and then, at the same time, commission a new engine because it will take time to install it at the facility and then get it up and running,” Terlaje added.
She said Rota Resort’s generator is not a permanent solution, as it is only an immediate backup.
“Rota Resort’s generator is up right now, and we were told that the engine is in good working condition. We will be sending our electrical engineer down to assist with the assessment of the engine before we connect it to our grid,” Terlaje said.
She said their permanent solution is to get a new engine. “The funds have been identified already,” she added.
Terlaje said they intend to procure a new two-megawatt engine that can be installed and commissioned within 18-24 months.
