Previous Story
Grace period for paying CUC bills extended to 21 days
|
Posted on Jan 25 2012
Residential utility customers now have an extra week to settle their power and water bills without being disconnected from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. system as a result of a new law that Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed on Monday.
Public Law 17-68 extends the existing 14-day grace period by seven days for a total of 21 days after the billing due date for CUC residential customers.
With delayed wages and work hour cuts as a result of a weak economy, the 21-day grace period is expected to bring relief to hundreds of CUC residential customers.
The new law also prohibits CUC from disconnecting services to residential customers who are receiving utility assistance from the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs because of DCCA’s failure to timely remit payments to CUC.
PL 17-68 also disallows CUC from disconnecting utility services on a Friday, and/or on the last workday of the week.
Sen. Jovita Taimanao (Ind-Rota), author of Senate Bill 17-23, Senate Draft 1 that became PL 17-68, said the economic recession makes it hard for many residential customers to make CUC payments.
“As such, they need more time once they receive their CUC billing statement to make their payments especially if receipt of the statement is delayed by the postal service,” said Taimanao, chair of the Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee.
[B]Tinian local law[/B]The governor also signed a local bill appropriating and re-appropriating a total of $58,000 from poker license fees to the Tinian Municipal Scholarship.
Fitial signed Rep. Trenton Conner’s (R-Tinian) House Local Bill 17-66 into Tinian Local Law 17-10.
Of the total amount, $32,187 collected from poker and pachinko slot machines will be given to the Tinian Municipal Scholarship. The other $25,813 in funds re-appropriated from previous programs or business units will also go toward the scholarship program.
