060308 mv
AFTER RAISING THE POWER RATES TO ALMOST 4 TIMES THE AMOUNT THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING;


POWER OUTAGES:
THURSDAY; 8-10PM
FRIDAY; 8-10PM
SATURDAY: 8-10PM
SUNDAY: 8-10PM
MONDAY: 9AM-11AM, 1PM-2PM, 8:36PM-10:30PM

CUC: Cylinder, turbocharger problems cause power outage Tuesday, 03 June 2008 00:00 By Raymond A. Martinez - Variety News Staff THIRTY percent of the island suffered power outage yesterday as two engines at Power Plant 1 experienced mechanical breakdown, leaving only two engines running to service the rest of the
communities.
This is according to Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Executive Director Antonio S. Muna.
Muna explained that engines #3 and 6 were down due to mechanical problems.
Engine #3, he said, experienced abnormal sound on its cylinder #16, while engine #6 was down due to presence of water in the turbocharger lube oil system.
CUC report says unit #3 needs valve replacement and unit #6 needs further inspection with its turbocharger cooler.
Engines #3 and 6 were secured yesterday, but are still under observation by the power plant crew.
Muna mentioned that engines #2 and 8 were the only power units that were operating yesterday with a combined capacity of 13 megawatts only.
CUC implemented load shedding from 8 a.m. until 12 midnight, affecting the entire grid of Kiyas 1 and 4, Feeders 7 and 4.
San Vicente, portions of Papago, Upper and Lower Dandan, Isley Field, Upper Gualo Rai, Chalan Kiya, Oleai, San Jose, Garapan, Koblerville, As Gonno, San Antonio, Capital Hill, Kagman, Achugao, San Roque, Afetnas and several other places were affected.
Water services and traffic lights were also down in yesterday’s power outage.
Last week CUC announced that high atmospheric temperature and overheating radiator has paralyzed two of its power plant engines which caused power service interruption island-wide.
Gary P. Camacho, CUC’s power division acting manager, said they will repair a defective air break system on Feeder 3 near the Gualo Rai intersection today.
“The repair of this equipment will allow the crews to isolate specific areas of the grid to perform systems maintenance and minimize future feeder outages,” Camacho explained.
Feeders 2 and 3 will be taken offline from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Other Feeders that will be affected in today’s outage include Kiya 1: Second Partial, Feeder 1: Laterals, entire grids of Feeders 4 and 7, and entire grids of Kiyas 1,







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we're not gonna take it

ROLLING BLACK OUT"S

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OUTAGE November 19, 2007...lower dandan.

OUTAGE November 20th, schedule to go off in some parts of the Island.

OUTAGE November 21th, 2007 HITS KAGMAN

EMERGENCY BLACKOUT HITS SAIPAN November 21st, 2007 5pm without announcement.

ROTATING BLACKOUTS ARE BACK November 23rd, 2007
Feeder 4 - 1 in the morning and another from 7pm-9pm.

OUTAGE: November 25th, 2007
Feeder 4 - 1 at midnight and another at 7-9pm.

OUTAGE: November 26th, 2007
Susupe, Feeder 4 7-9pm & midnight for 2 hours.

OUTAGE: November 27th, 2007
Feeder 4 morning hours




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HERE WE GO AGAIN

Local Sunday, March 30, 2008 Fate of power rate repeal now lies with Senate By Agnes E. Donato Reporter House members are counting on the Senate to pass a bill repealing a law that reduced power rates in the Commonwealth. Rep. Tina Sablan, one of bill's sponsors, said yesterday that passing the bill is a difficult political decision, but it “needs to be done.” “I am hopeful that they [senators] will see the gravity of the situation and act expeditiously,” Sablan said in an interview yesterday. Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, also a sponsor of the bill, expressed the same hope. “Everyday that we don't act to repeal that law means CUC will continue to burden the general fund,” he said. House Bill 16-79 passed the Lower House with a 17-1 vote on Thursday. Rep. Stanley T. Torres voted against the bill. Representatives Oscar M. Babauta and Ralph Torres were not present. The bill proposes to repeal Public Law 15-94, which forced power rates down to 17 cents per kWh in October 2007, and reduced or scrapped other charges for residential customers. The law, compounded by the rising cost of fuel, has caused the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to face a shortfall of about $1 million each month for fuel alone. Due to the shortfall, CUC for instance failed to pay for a full 30-day fuel supply last month. Power outages are now occurring partly because CUC is stretching to last for 30 days the 23-day supply that it managed to purchase. Hofschneider said that the repealer bill would not only allow CUC to pay for full fuel deliveries, but also reduce government subsidy to the utility. In addition, Sablan argued, the customers would not lose much if P.L. 15-94 was repealed. The law, she noted, has not been of any real benefit to the customers, since emergency regulations were adopted to give CUC flexibility in setting the fuel component of the power rates. House Bill 16-79 will become law once approved by the Senate and signed by the governor. Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Businesses, gov’t to pay record high power rates

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THE government and the business sector will pay record high rates for their electricity this month as the prices of imported fuel sold to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for its power plants and water wells reached more than $100 a barrel late last month.This month, CUC will charge the business sector 34.4 cents per kilowatt hour, up from 31.4 cents last month.The government will be charged 34.9 cents per kwh this month, up from 31.9 cents in October.Residential customers would have been charged anywhere from 27.4 to 38.5 cents per kwh had the lawmakers not overridden Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s veto of a measure reducing the residential electric rates to 17.6 cents per kwh for the first 1,000 kwh of energy they consume.Pamela Mathis, CUC spokeswoman, said in September, they bought fuel from Singapore through Mobil Oil Marianas at $93.55 a barrel or $2.45-$2.90 per gallon.Late last month, the price of fuel sold to CUC hit $100.49 a barrel.“That’s the highest cost per barrel in CUC/CNMI history,” said Mathis.She said CUC is still trying to figure out how to address the huge projected revenue loss due to reduced residential electric rates which involves close to 12,000 accounts.A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to provide CUC with up to $6 million in fuel subsidies. But Mathis said the amount may not be enough since CUC’s projected revenue shortfall is more than $8 million.She said the current cap on residential electric rates can still be altered through the governor’s emergency powers, which he hasn’t exercised yet.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

CUC lifts emergency load shedding

By Gemma Q. CasasVariety News Staff 103107

THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp. yesterday canceled its emergency load shedding schedule after its mechanics successfully fixed the troubled 7-megawatt engine, raising to four the number of working generators at Saipan’s main source of electricity.Pamela Mathis, CUC spokeswoman, said the troubled engine underwent a hydro-test and its leaks were also repaired.That engine’s leak problems with its cylinder caused its water and oil to mix.“So they have to reseal the cylinder,” Mathis said. “They also drained from the engine all of the contaminated oil that has a mixture of water in it.”After the engine was drained of all the liquids, the repair was made.Mathis said a group of in-house CUC power plant staff mechanics fixed the engine on a 12-hour rotating shift.“Four men and one foreman have been working since Friday on this engine on a 12-hour rotating basis,” she said. She said the other engines, which also experienced trouble from time to time, will undergo repair maintenance once the parts they have ordered arrived.In the meantime, CUC is reiterating its call on residents and commercial establishments to conserve as much energy as they can to help the agency keep up with the electricity demand of the island.Mathis said CUC noticed an upsurge on the use of electricity among residential customers after the Legislature’s override on a vetoed bill lowering residential electric rates.

Legislature wants CUC to have only 8 foreign workers

By Gemma Q. CasasVariety News Staff 103107

SPEAKER Oscar M. Babauta says the Legislature agreed to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s request to continue hiring skilled foreign workers but their number will be limited to eight.CUC, moreover, will be required to train more locals, said Babauta, Covenant-Saipan.“The final conference committee report was approved based on CUC’s need for more technical people but it’s not necessarily to benefit just one company,” said Babauta referring to CUC’s dealings with local businessman Felipe Atalig’s manpower agency, Casa de Felipe.Atalig rejected CUC’s request for help over the weekend to fix a troubled engine.His firm used to provide CUC with at least 20 skilled workers for the past several years.However, the Legislature voted in favor of limiting manpower hires for CUC to just eight and for a limited term only. This privilege will expire on Sept. 30, 2008.In a separate interview, CUC spokeswoman Pamela Mathis said CUC is now looking at alternative manpower sources.“There was a request for three people. I confirmed that Mr. Atalig declined (to help us) and I have also confirmed that the CUC executive director is seeking alternative that could include other contractors or direct hire to supplement our staff,” she said.She said there is something going on between Atalig and the Legislature but CUC would rather not get involved. House Bill 15-285 allows CUC to have foreign hires, but only through manpower agencies with clean labor records.

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RESEARCH DONE AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2007