Heavy vibrations

That was the word I read describing the problem with engine number 8 at power plant one in the Wednesday paper. I am sitting here listening to the heavy vibration of the generator at work; something I have grown accustomed to over the years.

I found the articles on the power plant very informative, and then there was a letter from Mr. Cruz on the plant that motivated me to write this letter. According to my understanding we have four large capacity engines and four smaller capacity. Number 1, 4, 7 and 8 are out of service completely—2 small and 2 large capacity engines. Engines 5 and 6, the two remaining large capacity engines, are running at sub-capacity due to cooling issues. We had a failure yesterday because they overheated. Engine number 4 is a ghost now; it has been cannibalized for parts. The paper mentioned that money was found in December to repair the engines, $6.5 million, from the federal government. CUC says they have signed agreements for $5.6 million in repairs, with “rehabilitation” ongoing in 7 of 8 engines.

Does anyone besides me remember all the past rehabilitations? As Mr. Turbitt pointed out, does anyone really care? We passed a rate reduction recently to lower our costs at the CUC counter, now we have no power because there is not enough collected to cover fuel costs. The dog is chasing his tail, ever seen how long a dog will do that?

Mr. Cruz, I want to commend you on hitting the nail squarely on the head. Your actions have given many of us a first hand confirmation of what we suspected, and your comments and questions raised are to the point, relevant, and I feel accurate.

We can all sit around complaining to our families as we prepare our meals in the dark, figure ways to wash our kids in the dark, I could go on. The point I wish to make is that it is fairly clear that the situation at CUC is grave. The past we cannot change. The present is draining our strength to persevere. The administration and the Legislature have failed us, I hate saying that but it is a practical truth. What can be done? Remember when Guam was having rolling blackouts, the power grid was failing? What happened down there? Why can’t we the people demand a series of public hearings to discuss the problems, hear the solutions by all the parties? I urge any group to come forward to get people a platform whereby we can come and register our input. There is a solution, there always is. There first has to be will, and a commitment to put aside differences, a commitment to make hard, painful, universally inclusive decisions for the benefit of not individuals but for the community. Fixing CUC is THE issue in the CNMI right now, not immigration, not education, not even healthcare. We have, according to the paper report, about 12,000 hours of operating time for the engines after rehabilitation. That is 1.3 years. Some experts out there, please correct me if I got it wrong. Point is, if we don’t find a workable solution we will have more of the same. That is a best-case scenario. We all have our own agendas, our own beliefs on this and other issues in the CNMI. This is the defining issue, the crux for the CNMI. I call on someone with the power and authority to initiate a series of public forums so WE—the “bitter ones,” the working class—can have OUR voices heard. So that we can start the process of real change. In the meantime, I will buy more candles.