Toribiong issued Executive Order No. 253, establishing a task force to look into the breakdowns of generators and rolling blackouts.
In the Executive order, Toribiong stated that the “availability of reliable electrical power is absolutely essential to attaining and promoting the foregoing objectives and policies.” The order added that there is a lack of information made available to the national government and to the public regarding the reasons for the breakdown and that a continued problem may arise with the PPUC generators in the future.“In order to better ascertain the situation regarding the current and future status of the reliability of electrical power in Palau,” Toribiong said a task force is necessary to look into the current status of PPUC.The task force will be chaired by Patrick U. Tellei;and the rest will be composed of Minister Public Infrastructure, Industries and Commerce Jackson Ngiraingas, Sen. Paul Ueki, Del. Gibson Kanai; Joshua Koshiba; and Ken Uehara. The duties of the task force is look into the current status of the PPUC generators: including those generators located at Malakal Island, Koror State; Aimeliik State; Anguar State; Kayangel State; Peleliu State; and the emergency generator located at the Ngerulmud National Capitol Complex; and current mechanical state of the generators, and the immediate and long term need to rehabilitate or replace them.The task force is also responsible for the financial status of the PPUC and its cash flow.The investigation will also include the loan from Mega International Commercial Bank Ltd. The task force will also investigate PPUC’s short and long-term plans to replace all or a portion of the current petroleum based system of electrical generation with one powered by renewable energy resources, including any plans the PPUC may have for hydro, solar, tidal or wind alternatives.The Task Force shall prepare and submit to the President a preliminary report on its findings by no later than March 11, 2009, and by no later than March 23, 2009.
