‘No more rolling blackouts by Sept.’

Load shedding should be resolved by early September if all engine parts needed to fix the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s main power plant arrive on schedule.

CUC contractor, Man B&W Diesel (Singapore) project manager Ivo Post said during yesterday’s briefing at the Multi-Purpose Center that engine 3 is estimated to be up by August 25, engine 8 by Sept. 8, and engine 4 by Sept. 17.

These three units are currently down, resulting in the eight-engine Power Plant 1 to produce only 43MW.

By design, the power plant can generate up to 80MW.

Post is contracted to fix engine 8, which has a capacity to produce 13MW.

He said he is still making quotation for engine 3 and 4, but based on the timeline, these two should also be rehabilitated in a few weeks.

CUC said that engine 8 has been down for almost a year now, while engine 3 broke down on July 31.

Engine 4 had to be brought down last month due to damage.

Meantime, CUC executive director Lorraine A. Babauta said yesterday that it would require some $7 million to bring all engines at PP1 to par.

She said the installation of engine 8 anchor bolts alone requires $400,000.

She said other expenses include $1 million for cooling system, $800,000 for roof repair, and purchases of various spare parts.

She said that the CUC would rely on the Governor’s Office and the Legislature to look for the sum of $7 million.

When asked, Babauta said that the amount needed to fix the plant is not tied with the privatization.

“It’s a separate issue,” she said.

CUC consultant Dennis Swann of Harris Group said last month that a privatization contract for PP1 would be awarded in less than two months.

Yesterday, officials mentioned nothing about progress in the privatization.

Gov. Juan N. Babauta said yesterday that his emergency power would not be lifted until PP1 is fully working.

“The declaration of emergency will continue until power plant 1 is up,” said the governor.

The governor declared a state of disaster emergency during his State of the Commonwealth Address on May 19 amid recurring blackouts stemming largely from the lack of fuel supply.

About two weeks later, the administration and the CUC signed a two-year contract with Mobil Oil Marianas.

But he said that problem of paying for fuel remains since the cost of oil has doubled over a year “so this administration has had to step in and start paying for fuel.”

He said that the government has paid $10.2 million as of July 31 to CUC, which is over $2 million more than the CUC billing.

Further, he said that on top of the fuel problem, “I was also forced to step in because we were on the verge of losing generating capacity.”

He cited that three engines of standby power plant 2 have been rehabilitated and complementing PP1.

The three rehabilitated engines at standby power plant 2 contribute 1.5 to 1.8MW each.

PP2 consists of six small-capacity machines, which have a combined capacity of 15MW.

Santos said two more machines are being repaired, engines 6 and 2.