CUC wavers over 80-MW power plan • But Chairperson Elameto wants status quo on power rates

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation appears to have backed down to pressure as officials yesterday said they will support a pending measure reinstating the mothballed 80-megawatt power plant on Saipan if there is an assurance that such a project will not increase electricity rates on the island.

CUC Board Chairperson Rosario M. Elameto said they are not pushing for a veto of Senate Bill 12-19, but that they want clarification on its intent before the governor signs it into law.

“No, we didn’t ask for a veto. We want clarification of the bill. If the intent of the bill is good, then we want the governor to sign it. We want the contract in a way that we don’t need to increase the rates,” she told reporters in an interview.

Ms. Elameto met with Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday to discuss the legislation, but was instructed to talk with House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial and other members of the Legislature to find out what exactly they are proposing.

The government-owned utility corporation apparently wants the much delayed project rolling, but it is hoping that its concerns are addressed in the bill offered by Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes.

CUC is not favoring any of the top bidders to win the $120 million contract, Ms. Elameto insisted, but it wants guarantee that the lowest bid will prevail and that whoever builds the project will complete it within two years.

She added that the utility corporation expects to narrow down the final selection to the three front-runners — Enron, the Tomen Consortium and SPP/HEI –– which received the highest scores in the independent evaluation conducted last year by Burns & McDonnell.

“It doesn’t matter who [gets the contract],” the CUC chairperson explained. “We want the lowest priced [bid] and, whoever takes the contract, to finish the power project in two years.”

By awarding it to a proposal with the lowest bid, it will ensure that CUC customers who will be supplied with power generated by the proposed plant will not be paying higher electricity rates, said Ms. Elameto.

Both the consortium and the SPP/HEI partnership have claimed to have cheaper offer than Enron, saying that their proposal on medium-speed, diesel-powered engines is a lot less costly than the low-speed generators submitted by the Texas-based industrial giant.

The two power firms have in recent weeks urged Mr. Tenorio to veto the bill pending before his office in fear that it would eliminate competition and award the project to Enron.

They cited a provision in the legislation that stipulated that engines to be installed in the new Saipan plant will only be low-speed generators.

If it becomes law, SB 12-19 will invalidate earlier decision by the CUC board to collapse the initial request for proposal in favor of a 60-MW plant and force it to abide by the original plan finalized in 1997.

Lawmakers had passed the measure after the CUC board ignored their pleas to work out a compromise on the project that has drawn controversies for the past two years and attracted attention even from U.S. legislators.

Touted to be the biggest deal ever in the Commonwealth’s history, the utility corporation has planned to conduct a new bidding — a move that would bring the project back to square one.