The construction subcontractor for the Ukudu Power Plant is asking the Public Utilities Commission to deny a proposed amendment to the Guam Power Authority’s agreement for the plant, which would allow the utility to pay plant operator Guam Ukudu Power LLC for additional energy produced during the plant’s pre-commissioning test period.

The additional energy helped mitigate load shedding at a time when GPA was facing power generation shortages.

The subcontractor, Doosan Ukudu Power LLC, said there is no written contract for the energy support it provided from September 2025 through December 2025, and that amending a contract after the fact would violate PUC procedures and Guam procurement law.

The company also said the proposed payment amount would not cover the actual costs Doosan incurred to provide the power support, while also discussing significant issues with the water provided to cool the power plant.

Although GPA’s agreement for the Ukudu Power Plant is with GUP, Guam Ukudu Power contracted Doosan to build the power plant and provide engineering and procurement services.

There is no contract between GPA and Doosan.

The Ukudu plant reached full commissioning in December 2025, a few months after the targeted commissioning date of September 2025.

According to GPA’s petition to amend its agreement with GUP, a previous amendment provided for energy support during peak demand hours between May 30, 2025, and Sept. 6, 2025.

At GUP’s request, GPA agreed to pay Doosan directly for that support, the utility’s petition stated.

However, the power plant encountered an issue with its steam turbine in June 2025 and another issue with one of its three combustion turbine generators in September 2025.

But even with one combustion turbine needing repairs, the plant could still supply energy in the months leading up to full commissioning through its remaining combustion turbines and repaired steam turbine.

Proposed amendment

GPA and GUP then entered discussions to pay for support provided during the ensuing months.

According to GPA’s amendment petition, despite best efforts, the parties could not reach an agreement on direct payment to Doosan acceptable to the subcontractor. GUP then decided to dispense with direct payment to Doosan.

That allowed GPA and GUP to agree on the amendment at issue, which proposes a $6.4 million lump-sum payment to GUP for the 75-day period from Oct. 1, 2025, to Dec. 14, 2025.

“Because GPA has no contractual relationship with Doosan and was only making direct payments to Doosan under the earlier amendment at the request of GUP, once GUP withdrew its request for direct payments to Doosan, GPA had no reason to continue doing so. As GUP’s EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor, Doosan can apply to GUP for what it believes to be its fair share of the lump-sum payment,” GPA’s petition stated.

Doosan opposition

The amendment petition came before the PUC during a special meeting on May 7. But just a day before the meeting, Doosan filed a letter of opposition that raised legal concerns because the proposed amendment “seeks to retroactively address payment for services already rendered” and was allegedly inconsistent with Guam law and public procurement principles.

PUC legal counsel Anthony Camacho stated at the meeting that the opposition letter “doesn’t do anything.”

He said Doosan appeared to be trying to intervene in the proceeding, but PUC rules require a party to file a petition for leave to intervene at least five days before the relevant PUC meeting, and Doosan’s opposition letter was not properly before the commission.

But commissioners chose to table the amendment petition to allow additional time for review.

The PUC has scheduled another special meeting to address the amendment on May 21.

Doosan submitted a supplemental opposition on May 15.

The supplemental opposition stated that GPA asked Doosan to provide grid support to address power generation shortfalls from September 2025 to December 2025.

The subcontractor said it “is undisputed” that no written contract was in place for that period, and GPA and GUP later agreed to a compensation package without a written contract for services already provided.

“It is a basic rule of procurement that an agency cannot receive the benefit of services, agree to compensation after the fact, and then seek approval to procure those services,” Doosan’s supplemental opposition stated.

The $6.4 million that GPA agreed to pay GUP also does not cover the actual expenses incurred in providing grid support, according to Doosan.

Doosan claims the amount is $11.2 million, the supplemental opposition indicated, including costs for warranty extensions, manpower, consumables and insurance.

“These expenses were necessary to provide the grid support GPA requested. If Doosan’s claim is not resolved, Doosan will have no choice but to pursue all legal remedies to be made whole,” the supplemental opposition stated.

Doosan also requested certain documents from GPA, but alleged the utility refused to turn over documents and refused to identify the documents being withheld or provide exemptions for withholding them.

As a result, Doosan filed a petition for inspection of public records in the Superior Court of Guam.

Water supply issues

The final matter discussed in Doosan’s supplemental opposition is the water issues at the Ukudu Power Plant.

According to the filing, the plant was designed around GPA’s commitment to supply clean, adequately treated effluent water for cooling plant equipment.

“GPA fell short. The effluent water delivered to the facility by GPA’s sister utility, the Guam Waterworks Authority, was not fit for purpose. Independent testing revealed extremely elevated levels of contaminants including enterococci, orthophosphate, copper, zinc, and total dissolved solids far exceeding the specifications required under the project agreement,” Doosan’s supplemental opposition stated.

“The consequences were immediate and costly,” Doosan added.

According to the supplemental opposition, the contaminated water required a full shutdown for cleaning, repeated blockages of strainers throughout the facility, water pump failures and interruption of commissioning activities.

“Rather than proceed under conditions that would cause premature equipment failure, Doosan commissioned an independent study, designed and installed enhanced filtration systems, and absorbed every dollar of that work. The schedule delays that followed were a direct result of GPA’s and GWA’s failure to deliver conforming water,” Doosan stated.

A May 19 report, separate from the exhibits Doosan provided in its supplemental opposition filing, stated that the reuse water continues to fail contractual specifications and that the issue remains unresolved. The same report said Doosan understood relevant authorities, including GPA and GWA, indicated that a permanent rectification of the water quality issue is not presently achievable.

The Guam Daily Post asked GPA and GWA questions about the water issue and is awaiting a response.

Guam Ukudu Power is the local entity created for the Ukudu Power Plant project. The entities behind GUP are Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea East-West Power Co. Ltd., which created a consortium to compete for the plant project.

Similarly, Doosan Ukudu Power is the local entity created for the plant project. The entity behind it is Doosan Enerbility Co. Ltd., previously known as Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction.