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CUC, Mobil exchange proposals
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Posted on May 24 2005
The Governor’s Office vowed yesterday to negotiate everyday with Mobil Oil Marianas Inc. until a long-term supply of fuel for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is ensured.
Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Diego Benavente and CUC officials met for several hours with Mobil to hammer out details of a long-term contract for future fuel deliveries.
According to the Governor’s Office, the lieutenant governor and CUC executive director Lorraine Babauta exchanged proposals with Mobil’s executives and began the bargaining process to ensure a steady supply of fuel for power generators.
“We are making progress. We will meet again tomorrow and everyday necessary to bring this emergency under control,” said Benavente.
It was the first day of negotiations between Mobil and the government for a long-term fuel supply contract.
Pursuant to Gov. Juan N. Babauta’s declaration of a state of disaster emergency on Thursday, the Executive Branch suspended the powers of the CUC board of directors and assumed control of the utility firm.
Last Friday, the government succeeded in partially solving CUC’s emergency fuel needs by getting Mobil to commit to deliver 1.4 million gallons on June 2, 2005. The delivery is expected to provide CUC enough fuel to run its power generators through June.
“That supply is now en route to the Commonwealth as negotiations continue,” the Governor’s Office reported yesterday.
Babauta made Thursday’s declaration following a series of power outages caused by the Puerto Rico power plant running out of fuel. The fuel problem was due mainly to CUC’s lack of a fuel contract, which has forced the corporation to purchase the product on an emergency procurement basis.
The state of emergency will remain in effect until a fuel contract is signed between CUC and Mobil.
