…new generator to be procured, standby in the interim – Bulkan
Residents of the Region One community have been without electricity for over five weeks due to the malfunctioning generator.
The Ministry of Communities says it will be working in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to procure a new generation set for Mabaruma, Region One.
This was disclosed by Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan in an interview with Department of Public Information/Government Information Agency (DPI/GINA) on Tuesday.
The procurement of the new generator is a long-term solution to the problem. Minister Bulkan explained that for the short-term intervention, the Ministry of Natural Resources has today been able to procure a standby 500kilowatt generator. The Ministry is currently making arrangements to have it transported and installed in the community shortly.
Bulkan expects that this intervention “will kick-in, in soon.” In the meantime, he is asking that, “residents exercise patience as the government works expeditiously to rectify the situation.”
Region One, Regional Executive Officer, Leslie Wilburg explained that the generator went down on May 15, 2017. After purchasing parts to repair the generator, it was discovered that it could not be fixed without spending ‘large sums of money’.
Wilburg said that, “The options were either to purchase a new plant, or spend more to repair it.” He reportedly considered both options and then shared his recommendations by way of a letter with the Minister of Communities and Minister of Public Infrastructure.
According to GINA, “the options were to repair the plant for some $8.4M with a time frame of four to five weeks, or repair for $6M. The other option was to purchase a new plant for some $16.7M with one week’s framework for installation, or $14.4M with the installation time of 3-4 weeks.”
