HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam Power Authority is looking to stand up 40 megawatts of temporary power by May 2024 and is hoping that lawmakers will push through with a waiver of certain procurements requirements for the project. GPA has been vocal about experiencing project setbacks due procurement protests, and is wanting to avoid a protracted process for the much needed generation capacity.
The power utility obtained authorization from its governing board to pursue the temporary power procurement in September, but still needs the green light from the the Public Utilities Commission, the rate setting body on Guam. The PUC will take up the matter next week, on Nov. 30
If approval is granted, GPA General Manager John Benavente said Wednesday that they plan to advertise the bid in the first week of December. GPA would like to open bid packages by the first week of January 2024 and make an award recommendation that same month, according to Benavente. After that, it would take about 100 days to get the temporary generation online, he added.
The project is pivotal to addressing generation shortfalls as the new power plant in Ukudu is built, particularly as damage from Typhoon Mawar pushed back the plant’s completion to 2026. The typhoon also damaged a major combustion turbine, Yigo CT, depriving the island of 20 megawatts of capacity, at least until repairs are completed around February 2024.
Residents have been experiencing instances of load shedding and rotating outages throughout the past few months as customer demand occasionally exceeds generation capacity, typically due to a generator or two going down. This has resulted in much criticism of the power utility and its board, the Consolidated Commission on Utilities.
The Cabras 2 baseload unit went down last week along with the Piti 8 baseload unit, all while the Piti 7 combustion turbine was offline for maintenance. That led to several outages Friday night. Piti 8 was brought back online relatively quickly, but Cabras 2 needed a few days for repairs. As of Wednesday, Cabras 2 was back online, albeit below its full capacity to mitigate future boiler tube issues. Piti 7 also returned to service by the afternoon, adding 20 megawatts of capacity to the power grid.
GPA does have a plan to address load shedding through the next several months, which includes onboarding temporary generation and bringing back Yigo CT, as well as increasing capacity for certain existing assets.
It’s the latter that’s the topic of Bill 201-37, a measure that would waive certain procurement requirements to forward the maintenance, operation and overhaul of some existing diesel units, a project that has been hampered by procurement protests. Under Bill 201, GPA will be authorized to use whatever source selection it deems necessary, subject to the approval of the PUC.
Sen. William Parkinson introduced the measure, but GPA submitted it.
Benavente and other utility officials attended a public hearing on the bill Wednesday afternoon.
The overall testimony supported the measure, but Benavente did ask for the temporary power procurement to be added to the mix, largely because GPA is trying to raise capacity before May, as May through November are high energy demand months.
“If I get PUC’s approval next week, and I go through the whole process and get stuck again … I’m trying to get most of this capacity on the line by May, at the latest, of next year. Because beginning in May … are the highest peak months. So there now, your load shedding is compounded,” Benavente said.
Parkinson, who leads the legislative committee overseeing GPA, appeared agreeable to the suggestion but said he believed it should be its own bill. He promised to introduce a waiver measure for the temporary power procurement out soon, and to either get it heard or have the hearing requirement waived on the session floor, “just so we can get this done quickly.”
Damage claims
As the public hearing proceeded, the discussion ultimately turned to claims for damaged appliances.
Public Law 22-21 holds GPA liable for damage that occurs in electrical appliances and devices when “proximately” caused by power surges or other issues in the power supply.
Both Parkinson and Attorney General Douglas Moylan have encouraged residents to file claims if their property was damaged by load shedding.
Parkinson asked Benavente if load shedding is a valid reason for filing a claim. Benavente said GPA would need to confirm the factors behind the claim.
“If you’re air conditioner is already 20 years old, it’s way past its life. Load shedding is really a turning on and turning off of energy … The worst condition that could hurt a customer is when a line goes down. A line goes down, it causes a surge through the system. That’s a valid claim. We would go through and confirm that,” Benavente said.
“But turning on and off the power, it’s like … Again, we have a battery that controls the voltages in the system. So, it’s almost like turning on and off your lights. Of course, it’s been quite often, so therefore, that could have some impact. We have to take a look at it on a case by case. And we will be reasonable, especially in this scenario,” Benavente added.
There was also some disagreement on how much money GPA sets aside for damage claims. In a prior hearing, a utility official stated that $11 million is set aside each year, which Parkinson made note of in a recent release.
But on Wednesday morning, during a meeting with the CCU, Benavente and commission officials didn’t know where the figure came from.
During the hearing on Bill 201, Parkinson played a clip of the past hearing in which the $11 million figure is mentioned. After that, Benavente said there may have been some confusion, adding that GPA doesn’t set aside a specific amount, but whatever money it takes to pay claims is taken out of the utility’s customer service budget. He noted that claims have historically been low, nowhere near $11 million.
Parkinson said there needs to be better transparency and outreach in the claims process, adding that the general feeling among the public is that GPA will find ways to deny claims.
“We will examine the process to make sure the people who file claims are treated fairly,” Parkinson said.
“That’s fair enough,” Benavente responded.
Guam Power Authority General Manager John Benavente answers questions during a hearing on Bill 201-37(COR) which would address issues that Guam Power Authority has been having with a protest that has prevented work on existing diesel generators Wednesday Nov. 22, 2023 in the Public Hearing Room of the Guam Congress Building in Hagåtña.
Sen. William A. Parkinson holds a hearing on Bill 201-37(COR) which would address issues that Guam Power Authority has been having with a protest that has prevented work on existing diesel generators Wednesday Nov. 22, 2023 in the Public Hearing Room of the Guam Congress Building in Hagåtña.
