CUC has been given the go-signal to use millions of dollars in grants from the U.S. Department of the Interior to rehabilitate the troubled engines at power plant 1, the main source of electricity on Saipan, now that the 15-megawatt containerized generators of Aggreko International Power Projects Ltd. are up and running.
Federal authorities are closely monitoring CUC’s activities following the confession of former Executive Director Anthony Guerrero that he was coerced by Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez to sign a sole-source contract to buy the chemical known as Rydlyme from his sister’s company.
The fraud-related case remains pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
Rep. Tina Sablan, Ind.-Saipan, said the House expects OPA to ensure that all future transactions at CUC are aboveboard.
“OPA will be focusing on auditing particular contracts related to the power plant rehabilitation, developing questions for the oversight hearing, and providing recommendations to the committee; the rest of the committee’s work will be in evaluating statutes, regulations, board policies, and practices that over the years have impacted CUC and led our utilities to the present state of disarray, researching best practices for utilities, and providing recommendations to the Legislature,” she said in an email.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, already asked CUC to make a report to the House about the status of its projects and plans of actions to stabilize the power supply on Saipan.
Palacios said Saipan’s power crisis is very serious and timely solution is of essence.
“When it comes to solving CUC’s problems on Saipan, the House leadership has held the belief that cooperation with the administration is paramount…. This spirit of cooperation will continue so long as the administration pursues initiatives for improving CUC’s power generation system on Saipan that are feasible and make economic sense to implement,” he told Gov. Benigno R. Fitial in a letter dated Nov. 17.
