I found the following response on a Canadian site responding to similar queries regarding the GE CT7-8C engine that many had believed had been proposed by Sikorsky for the Cyclone. I can vouch that the attached is an accurate account of the situation.
The FAA type certificate for the alternative Cyclone engine (to replace the current CT7-8A1) ondicates that it (the CT7-8A7) is still grossly underpowered and will not meet, by a large margin, the minimum OEI and cruise speed requirements specified in the 2004 MH contract. I suspect that these are just a few of the perforamance issues that Hitachi recommended be cast aside in order to rescue the Sikorsky Cyclone.
The fact is that Sikorsky never proposed the CT7-8C engine for MHP.
The confusion about Cyclone engines undoubtedly began when GEAE and Sikorsky made a joint press announcement at the Paris Air Show in 2003 stating that the triple turbine GE CT7-8C 3000+shp engine had been selected to power the H-92 (military variant of the yet-to-be-fielded S-92).
However, in 2004 Sikorsky proposed the GE CT7-8A (2500 shp) engine for MHP.
After contract award, it became apparent to Canada that the CT7-8A engine did not meet the minimum MH performance requirements and Sikorsky and GE subsequently agreed to modifications that resulted in the currently fitted CT7-8A1 engine (in the "interim" MH).
As time went on, it became apparent to Canada that Sikorsky had grossly understated the weight of its proposed MH (the Cyclone) and it was clear that more powerful engines such as the 3000+shp CT7-8C would be required in order to meet Canada's minimum one-engine-inoperative (OEI) performance requirements. Unfortunately, by then, President Obama and Defense Secretary Gates had mutually agreed to cancel the AW101 VH-71 program and, along with it, the development program for the super-charged CT7-8C engine that Sikorsky desperately needed for the Cyclone.
In response, Sikorsky and GEAE (at the latter's expense) agreed to a development program to squeeze every ounce of power from the existing CT7 twin turbine engine. GE eventually achieved off-aircraft FAA certification for a fully tweaked CT7 engine in late 2011 (the CT7-8A6 & CT7-8A7 -- the latter specifically designed for the orphan Cyclone fleet). Despite GE's valiant efforts, the CT7-8A7 was certified well short of the Cyclone's OEI power requirements.
The latter explains (but only partially) why HITACHI (in close consultation with Sikorsky) has recommended to PWGSC that Canada step back from its basic MH safety of flight requirements and agree to something less.