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OIA’s Pula follows up on Saipan power situation
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Posted on May 01 2009
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs Nikolau Pula is on island to follow up on Saipan’s power situation and the status of OIA-funded capital improvement projects, among other things.
“I want to follow up on the power situation because when I was here the last time we wanted to work with the CNMI regarding the power situation and I just want to come back now to follow up on it and see how it’s going to go. I know Aggreko is leaving and I want to see how that progress is going forward,” Pula told reporters in an interview in the Governor’s Conference Room on Capital Hill after the swearing in of Eloy Inos as the first non-elected CNMI lieutenant governor.
Pula, who visited Hawaii prior to arriving on Saipan, is also meeting with the governor and members of the Legislature.
He said the good thing is that he has not heard a lot of recent complaints about Saipan’s power situation unlike his prior visit when outages were rampant.
“Obviously, some things are doing okay but I also know that there’s a lot of work that need to be done so I want to follow up with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and the folks here what the status of that is and what’s going to happen in the next six months based on that,” Pula added.
In September, Pula was on island to meet with local leaders about the electrical power situation and how the Interior Department can help. He said discussions will focus on the CNMI’s resources and its long-term plans for the power system.
[B]Just dropping by[/B]Pula said he was in a meeting yesterday morning when he was informed about Inos’ swearing in. He said he dropped by to congratulate Inos.
“It’s unfortunate…the circumstances of the former lieutenant governor but that’s the way in any community with a democratic process. People take over [during] situations when things are not going well…I congratulate the new lieutenant governor,” he said.
Pula said he heard from a long time ago of Inos’ competence as a financial expert.
