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CUC: No massive blackout
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Posted on Apr 17 2008
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. says there is no truth to the rumor that Saipan will have a massive blackout this weekend.
CUC executive director Anthony Guerrero has told a legislative committee that some 3,500 barrels of fuel were delivered for Saipan’s power plant yesterday.
The delivery, combined with what CUC has in stock, is expected to last until next weekend.
Speaking before the House Committee on Ways and Means yesterday, Guerrero said that CUC was able to collect enough money from customers over the past few days to pay for the fuel purchase.
Tinian and Rota also have nothing to worry about in terms of power service—at least for now.
According to Guerrero, Tinian has enough fuel to last 11 days and Rota has a week’s supply left.
But both islands must prepare for rotating power outages similar to what Saipan has been experiencing for months. He said CUC plans to “spread the burden” among the three main islands.
Guerrero assured lawmakers that, despite the lack of funds to buy fuel, a power blackout is the last option for CUC.
“We will exhaust every effort before turning the lights off on the entire island. Our concern is not only about power service, but also water,” he said.
Because all of CUC’s collections are going to the cost of fuel, other vendors will have to wait longer to be paid, Guerrero said.
In related news, the Fitial administration revealed yesterday that the central government has made advance utility payments until July 2008.
From October 2007 to date, the CNMI government has paid $7.5 million to CUC, covering 10 months of utility consumption.
The paid amount represents the government’s budget for utility for the entire fiscal year. This means that the government will have no more money to pay for its CUC bills for August and September.
Finance Secretary Eloy Inos told the House committee that about $1.5 million needs to be reprogrammed to the utility expense account, so the government can pay for the two remaining months.
“If not, the lights will go out on the government, including this building [Legislature],” Inos said.
