He thanked its author, Rep. Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan, and the other members of the Legislature including House Minority Floor Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, for passing the legislation which Inos said will help ease the impact of the continuously increasing cost of fuel.
“It’s a perfect storm,” Inos said referring to present economic situation of the CNMI, adding that everything that the Legislature and the administration do together to ease the people’s burden is welcome.
Now that the H.B. 17-114 is now Public Law 17-34, Inos said he expects CUC to issue a request for proposal to interested investors.
CUC Executive Director Abe Utu Malae, however, said of the 12 investors who, over the last eight months, had been offering renewable energy project proposals, only two are “doing their homework” to pursue a deal with CUC by obtaining permits and complying with other requirements.
Malae said RFPs have already been submitted to the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission for review.
He told reporters that CUC will first issue an RFP for power plant energy-efficiency which includes acquiring photo-voltaic panels or solar energy production.
Then, CUC will issue another RFP for a hybrid system that combines solar and wind energy sources, he added.
Malae said they also plan to issue an RFP for a geothermal energy assessment.
Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, thanked Inos for signing the bill which had been going back and forth in the Legislature for quite a while before it was finally passed by both chambers last week.
The legislation amends P.L. 16-17, the CUC privatization law, to remove its $250 million price tag. The previous Legislature, which enacted the law by overriding the governor’s veto, feared that the administration would sell CUC for a “bargain” price to one of its favored businesspersons.
