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Muña: Aggreko extension possible
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Posted on Dec 08 2008
CUC hopes to rehabilitate Power Plant 1 before the end of the yearlong Aggreko contract in September 2009, but an extension might be necessary, CUC executive director Antonio Muña said.
Under the $6 million contract, Aggreko provides 15 megawatts of emergency power to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. The contract allows for the possibility of a six-month extension.
“We are planning to try to get this done with Aggreko before the first 12 months expire, but realistically, like anything else, we need to plan for it if we don’t get it done,” Muña said of rehabilitating the engines at Power Plant 1. “So we are working with Aggreko and advising them potentially that may be a possibility.”
Muña added that the number one priority is to get the engines at Power Plant 1 up and running before September 2009, which he calls a work in progress.
Muña is requesting $3.89 million from the Office of Insular Affairs for the overhaul of the engines. He submitted an expenditure plan to Gov. Benigno Fitial last month, detailing how the money would be spent.
Under the proposal, Power Plant 1 would go from currently producing 8.5 megawatts to producing 41 megawatts—meeting the island demand—by December 2009.
In a recent report, consultants hired by the Public Utilities Commission said, “Given the staggering scope associated with the rehabilitation of existing power plants and the lack of CUC resources, there is almost a 100 percent chance that the Aggreko contract will need to be extended.”
CUC paid Aggreko an initial $1.5 million for the generators. Each month CUC must make a payment of $504,000 to the company.
