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CUC board OKs RFP for Tinian temporary power generation
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board of directors has approved the request of the CUC management to authorize it to issue a request for proposal for a temporary power generation provider on Tinian.
Saipan Tribune learned yesterday that the vote for the board was just for the format of the bidding process.
Acting CUC executive director Betty G. Terlaje said in an interview Wednesday that the interim power generation provider is needed while some of the Telesource CNMI Inc.’s engines—which provides power on Tinian—get assessed and overhauled as necessary.
“We’re taking over Telesource. We have to do our assessment while we’re overhauling Telesource engines,” Terlaje said.
Tinian’s power generation and distribution program is managed through a power purchase agreement with Telesource, an independent power provider. Telesource’s 20-megawatt diesel power plant reportedly generates an average of 1.9 megawatt per day. Telesource’s $21.6-million contract to build and operate the power plant started in 1997.
In April 2020, CUC extended for two years Telesource’s contract to run CUC’s power plant on Tinian. The contract ended on April 1, 2022.
