CUC emergency extended for 3rd time

Despite some objections from lawmakers, Gov. Benigno Fitial has extended the state of disaster emergency for the Commonwealth Utilities. Corp. for 30 more days.

Fitial first declared the state of emergency on Aug. 1.

The order is necessary to keep power flowing on Saipan, the governor said in a statement issued yesterday.

“CUC is repairing our electric system as best as it can, but until that job is done, we need temporary power from Aggreko and we need the ability to buy parts and labor quickly to meet our emergencies,” he said.

The declaration allows CUC to bypass procurement regulations and air quality standards.

Although he might be criticized by lawmakers, the order is necessary to protect CNMI residents, businesses, guest workers and tourists from experiencing a repeat of last summer’s rolling blackouts, the statement said.

On Friday, the Legislature passed a bill limiting the governor’s power to declare disaster emergencies.

Under the bill, the governor will not be able to use his constitutional powers to declare an emergency to deal with “financial crisis or hardship.” Proponents of the bill say such declarations should only be allowed in extreme cases such as an invasion, civil disturbance, natural disaster, or calamity. They argue that existing laws provide enough means for the governor to deal with a financial crisis without the governor having to use emergency powers.

Rep. Joseph James Camacho introduced the bill in May 2008 in the wake of the governor’s emergency declaration for the Commonwealth Ports Authority, which was facing technical default on its airport revenue bonds due to financial problems.

The new CUC emergency order follows many of the same guidelines as last month’s, but is updated to recognize the additional two megawatts of power provided by the Aggreko generators. The emergency generators are now providing 15 megawatts of temporary power to the island.

“Even though the Aggreko site runs cleaner than CUC’s old Power Plant 1, EPA and DEQ air regulations would ordinarily prohibit the generators as a ‘new source’ in Lower Base,” the statement said.

Last month it was learned that CUC did not get the proper permits from the Environmental Protection Agency for the generators.

Yesterday, Dean Higuchi, spokesman for EPA’s Hawaii and Pacific Region, said the agency was waiting on some additional information from CUC and working with DEQ to sort out the situation.

The new order also allows for emergency procurement of goods and services necessary to repair a transformer that feeds the southern side of the island. CUC can’t get the necessary warranty work done on a backup transformer that feeds the Chalan Kiya distribution transformer because it still owes the supplier $180,000, according to the declaration.

Also, the procurement authority addresses the possible collapse of a tank at Lower Base, containing 400,000 gallons of used diesel oil, and to buy goods and services to avoid future outages. CUC lost four megawatts of power in October due to scheduled maintenance at Power Plant 4 and forced outages caused a loss of 2 megawatts at Power Plant 1.

Fitial said he would ask legislative leaders to reconsider their decision to limit his powers to declare disaster emergencies.

“I need these constitutional tools to protect the people of the CNMI from rolling blackouts and other major emergencies facing our Commonwealth during this challenging period in our history,” he said in the statement.

Since Fitial assumed office in January 2006, he has issued declarations or extensions of more than a dozen disaster emergencies for government agencies.

The CNMI is currently under three states of emergency: one for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., one for the lack of a full-time pharmacist at the Commonwealth Health Center, and one for the island of Anatahan, which experienced a volcanic eruption in 2003.