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1 unit at PP4 replaced with another unit
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Posted on Sep 02 2008
The decommissioned power engine at the privately operated Power Plant 4 in Puerto Rico has already been replaced with another unit worth $350,000, according to operator Pacific Marine and Industrial Corp.
PMIC general manager Narciso Paradela told Saipan Tribune yesterday that they want to correct the impression that they have 10 power engines but only nine are operating.
Paradela said their power engine no. 1 was replaced with unit no. 10, a newly reconditioned secondhand unit with a 2.5 megawatt capacity costing $350,000.
In other words, he said, they still have nine units because of the replacement and that all nine are operating.
“We have not taken out the engine no. 1 from its foundation because of the cost to dispose of it,” the company official said in an e-mail.
He pointed out that if there is an economical or practical way for them to rehabilitate unit no. 1, they would have done so long time ago.
Power Plant 4 has reportedly been saving Saipan’s electric power distribution in the middle of malfunctions and current repairs on power engines at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s main power plants in Lower Base.
CUC executive director Antonio Muña had earlier stated that the PMIC-operated Power Plant 4 is a key component in the power distribution system, delivering over 30 percent of the island’s power needs.
Since Friday, however, only one engine has been operating at Power Plant 1, while Power Plant 4 has been supplying 14.7 megawatts with its nine engines, for a total of 19 megawatts. Saipan needs about 41 megawatts to power the entire island.
The current power crisis at CUC’s power plants, however, has reportedly caused the operating costs of Power Plant 4 to go beyond its budget for the year.
PMIC’s contract with CUC is only to provide 10.1 megawatts. But because of the power crisis, Power Plant 4 has been supplying 14.7 megawatts.
CUC’s contract with PMIC was renewed in 2006 for another 10 years.
