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Loan saved wastewater customers from rate hike
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Posted on Jan 31 2012
An internal loan authorized by the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission saved wastewater customers from a higher charge in their monthly bills.
According to Commonwealth Utilities Corp. deputy executive director Alan Fletcher, among the issues that commissioner Viola Alepuyo approved Friday was the proposal to let CUC’s wastewater division borrow $2.85 million a year from CUC’s electric division.
CUC chief financial officer Charles Warren said that the proposed increase in wastewater rates was primarily to pay for the power to run the wastewater pumps.
“The power division will now lend the wastewater division up to $2.85 million per year for expenses. Because of this loan, there was no need to increase the wastewater rates at this time,” he said.
Fletcher said, however, that CUC will soon revisit the “rejected” proposed wastewater rate hike for possible filing in the commission’s future meetings.
Fletcher pointed out that what CUC’s power division will loan to the wastewater division is “not new money” but part of CUC’s budget.
The proposed $2.85 million, he said, will come from the new power bare rate revenue.
In its original petition, CUC wanted a $40 increase in its wastewater rates.
