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PUC set to hire two experts for rate study
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Posted on Sep 25 2008
The Public Utilities Commission is poised to enter into no-bid contracts with a consulting firm and a hearing examiner.
PUC chairwoman Viola Alepuyo in a letter to key administration officials said the commission intends to hire the Georgetown Consulting Group as its utility regulation consulting firm and Harry Boertzel as hearing examiner.
Both Georgetown and Boertzel have served in similar capacities for the Guam Public Utilities Commission for approximately 20 years.
Alepuyo said Georgetown and Boertzel will help the PUC review and set utility rates before the Dec. 31, 2008, deadline set by law. If the PUC fails to meet this deadline, the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. will be forced to reduce power rates down to 17 cents per kWh—a prospect that will make it impossible for CUC to pay for fuel supply and maintenance of its engines and to pay its independent power producers.
According to the PUC chief, this circumstance constitutes a threat to public welfare and is ground to sole-source the services of Georgetown and Boertzel.
“Both GCG and Mr. Boertzel have extensive and specialized knowledge in their respective fields,” Alepuyo said in the letter addressed to Attorney General Matthew Gregory, Finance Secretary Eloy Inos, and Procurement and Supply Director Herman S. Sablan.
She said PUC stands to benefit from Georgetown and Boertzel’s experience with Guam’s previous power crisis. Georgetown and Boertzel, she added, played integral roles in Guam’s recovery from that crisis, and both are held in high regard and recommended by the Guam PUC.
In addition to the Guam PUC, Georgetown has served as consultant for utility regulatory agencies in 13 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as to various public advocates, intervenor groups, and corporate clients around the country.
The PUC anticipates to pay professional fees amounting to $132,500 to Georgetown, and about $20,000 to $25,000 to Boertzel for the CUC rate study. Out-of-pocket expenses are not included in these estimates.
