Greg Cruz yesterday said the Fitial administration should consider “expertise and experience” and shun “political accommodation” in these times of energy crisis.
Cruz wants former Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero, a former executive director, to replace Muna.
He described Guerrero as an “experienced power doctor.”
Guerrero, an electrical engineer by profession, is very knowledgeable in power generation, Cruz said, adding the former senator can also address the mismanagement of CUC.
The $5.6 million contract for the rehabilitation and repair of Power Plant may have cost the government less if Guerrero is managing CUC, Cruz said.
He asked the Fitial administration to allow Guerrero to oversee CUC with his own team, which includes retired local CUC workers “well-versed and familiar with the power equipment.”
Taotao Tano is also questioning the composition of the Public Utilities Commission board and the legislative committees that handle utilities issues because “none of them have any experience, knowledge or the technical expertise to understand the difference between a circuit breaker and a transformer.”
He added, “These have been a part of the problem with our current situation with CUC. Common sense tells you that you cannot appoint an accountant, or plumber to fix an electrical problem. You must have some type of electrical engineering education in the field of electricity especially with the management of a power plant.”
Cruz noted that Taotao Tano and Rep. Tina Sablan, R-Saipan, have similar positions regarding CUC.
He said they both want to hold everyone accountable and responsible for “running the public utility agency in disarray.”
Cruz has been critical of Sablan. CUC mismanagement, he said, is caused by “never ending political interference and personal agendas.”
He believes that the Legislature’s oversight on CUC’s operation and management will accomplish nothing and the problem with continuous outages will be left unresolved.
