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Power Plant 4 goes offline
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Posted on Jun 01 2012
The only power plant on Saipan operated by a private company is currently offline, according to Charles Warren, chief financial officer of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
Warren confirmed yesterday that Power Plant 4, operated by Pacific Marine and Industrial Corp., has been offline for a week but remains on standby. That means it is not supplying any power to the Saipan grid.
Saipan Tribune files show that Power Plant 4, located along Chalan Pale Arnold Road in Puerto Rico, is designed to generate 14.50 megawatts.
With the Power Plant 4 offline, the island’s power needs are being supplied solely by Power Plant 1, which is operated by CUC.
Power Plant 1, situated in Lower Base, is expected to produce 71.70MW through its eight engines.
Warren noted that CUC’s decision to take Power Plant 4 offline “was purely a financial decision.”
He described the engines at Power Plant 1 as “more efficient” than those of Power Plant 4 since they burn less fuel to produce the same amount of power.
“With our current loads, [Power Plant 1] now has the capacity to handle the demand for the entire island,” Warren said via email.
When asked if CUC has any plans to buy out PMIC’s contract given the former’s enhanced capability to provide power to the island, Warren replied, “That is certainly an option.”
Saipan Tribune learned that PMIC’s existing contract expires in 2016.
CUC asked MPLT on March 27 to invest in the utilities agency by acting as a guarantor for a $7.5-million loan at a rate of 2 percent. MPLT, however, rejected the loan guarantor request, which was supposed to be utilized to fund improvements at Power Plant 4.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial recently placed CUC under a state of emergency and accepted executive director Abe Malae’s resignation last week.
When asked for comment, press secretary Angel Demapan said the administration does not anticipate any “adverse” impact by the switch from Power Plant 4 to Power Plant 1.
“In fact, it would prove more efficient given that [Power Plant 1] is a much more reliable source,” he added.
