Palacios, R-Saipan, told CUC Executive Director Antonio Muna the recent unannounced power outages raise concerns about the island’ power situation.
Load shedding on Saipan ended in mid-September after CUC rented 15-megawatt generators of Aggreko for $504,000 a month.
The initial lease contract is just for a year. During this period, CUC must be able to repair its troubled engines to keep up with the island’s demand for a stable supply of electricity.
“It is my understanding that CUC procured the Aggreko engines to provide temporary power for Saipan while the Power Plant 1 engines were repaired and rehabilitated in order to generate enough power for all CUC consumers including those that are not presently on the CUC power grid,” Palacios told Muna.
“Residents and businesses on Saipan and the commonwealth government suffered tremendously during CUC’s protracted power outages just a few months ago. We cannot be made to endure a similar power crisis, which will likely occur if CUC allows the Power Plant 1 engines to further deteriorate during the term of the Aggreko contract,” he added.
The speaker told Muna to provide his office an updated status report on the rehabilitation of the engines and CUC’s plan of action to resolve the power crisis on the islands.
He also asked information about all funding sources for the rehabilitation project.
