CPA demands lease payment from CUC

The Commonwealth Ports Authority has notified the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. that it must pay for the lease of some of the airport’s property on Saipan and Rota that CUC has been using without any agreement with the ports management.

CPA executive director Efrain F. Camacho, in several letters to CUC director Antonio Muna, said that CPA does not have any written document regarding the use of its property on Rota where CUC’s power plant is located.

“CUC has utilized the CPA property without any benefit to CPA. …This cannot continue because Rota CPA operation continues to be in deficit year after year,” Camacho reported to the board.

He demands that the use of the property be put in writing via a memorandum of agreement or a lease agreement between the two agencies.

Camacho wants CUC to offset the monthly utilities obligations of CPA-Rota in exchange for CUC using its property, emphasizing that this lack of payment for the use of the property “cannot and must not continue.”

Also, the ports authority official discovered that CUC does not have any written permission regarding CUC’s sand filtration system and water catchments at the Saipan International Airport.

Like CPA Rota, Camacho said that Saipan cannot continue the practice of having CUC use the property for free since CPA must enhance its revenue collection or reduce operation costs in order to meet its debt service under the airport bond.

A recommendation to offset the utility billings of the Saipan airport with that of CUC’s use of the property was also put on CUC’s table.

Camacho disclosed that the current site of CUC’s sand filtration system at the Saipan airport would soon be used by the ports authority for its expansion plan for the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport.

“CUC must develop a plan to relocate the system because the area is part of the SIA expansion plan,” he said.

In a recent meeting between the agencies’ officials, it was reported that Muña had acknowledged the CPA’s concerns but that no concrete solution was ever identified.

A follow-up meeting is scheduled for May 15.

Saipan Tribune learned that CPA is being billed by the utilities company approximately $50,000 in average monthly consumption.

As a cost-cutting measure, the ports management has implemented internal saving efforts to reduce utility consumption by closely monitoring all electrically-run equipment and air-conditioning units in all its facilities.