Dear Editor,

Yes, we all know.  The power status is an absolute disgrace and a condemnation of the FAST and HRPP governments.  The machines at Fiaga, only three, have been running at nearly 100% load for some ten years and they should only be running at 70% - 75% load.   I don’t know how they have survived for this long.  Remember, the Fiaga machines are six megawatts so if your arithmetic is up to par, you will see that they would be pooling sweat as the base load in Upolu is some 30 (thirty) megawatts.  There is one machine down hence the current blackouts.

I’m surprised that they have lasted this long and they have NEVER had a major service.  One is down now and more could go “off line” at any time.

The statement from The EPC is a joke!  “More generators ordered”.

These machines are not “off the shelf”.  They have to be built and load tested before shipping – two to three months.  They then have to be shipped, by sea – another two months, minimum, after finding a ship to carry them and getting them from the point of manufacture to the ship.  Further, a concrete pad for each machine has to be poured and then left to cure for at least two months.  The Fiaga powerhouse was built for four machines so that leaves room for only one.   Please now note that all these existing machines are way past their “use by” date, a real “hats off” to Mitsubishi who supplied them so that leaves one new machine for Fiaga and three replacement machines, a total of four!

I would have to assume that the newly procured machines will also come from Mitsubishi for the commonality of equipment and training.  It would be LUNACY to buy from elsewhere.  Please remember the state of The Hospital, the state of Faleolo, the state of the TATTE building and the Women’s Centre that had to be rebuilt.   Now as regards payment, The Supplier (Mitsubishi) will require a down payment before manufacture is begun.   Before the machines are released from the factory, The Supplier will require the balance of the value.  A six-megawatt generator will set the EPC back some two to two and a half million US dollars “each” so four machines will set them back US$10 million or SAT$27 million.  

But as The EPC has plenty of money, a statement from Minister Olo, that would not be a problem, nor a drain on the budget/economy.  But a standby machine is required so that maintenance can be performed and if another machine goes offline then a second standby machine is required which makes a total of six machines for Fiaga and no room for them, a mere US$15 million or SAT$39 million!  Now, this DOES NOT take into account the appalling forecasting from The EPC for expansion.  So, we need another shed for more machines.  Please don’t say you will put them into the Tanugamanono old shed.  The shed was decommissioned with the introduction of Fiaga and was a huge pollution problem, both noise and air.  Further, for grid design, this could not improve the quality of the power.  

You need to have power sources spread further out to do this.  A couple of smaller machines at each end of the island and the installation of the proposed wind farms.  Don’t deny this please EPC as there are no phase correction stations here, at all! Don’t forget the grid upgrades please along with putting power lines underground.

So, we now need accommodation for another four to six machines with the relevant cost of the generators also.  Please note that the sheds would have to be built to allow for expansion.  Has anyone from The EPC talked to The Department of Statistics to get an idea of what is being built – population expansion, buildings, air conditioning, etc?  We are not even talking about the damage (how) done to the filter batteries on the solar farms yet.  By the way, why are all of the hydro stations not producing?

People have to go to jail for this!  BUT WHO CARES –

Charlie Mansfield