Sticker shock for many CUC customers in last 2 months

Several customers of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. have been seeing an unprecedented increase in their electricity bills in the last couple of months. One such customer said that for the past two months he has been paying more than $400 a month and that he can barely keep up with the increase because of his minimum wage.

Another who has a family of five said she had been paying CUC an average of about $410 a month but recently she has been paying close to $600.

“I don’t blame CUC for these bills, and we have cut electricity usage, but seriously it’s getting harder and harder every month. What everyone needs to do is start paying CUC, especially those with past accounts and the government as well, so that others can stop suffering from all these rates,” she said.

Other members of the public said they saw their CUC bill double or even triple in the last two months alone.

According to CUC executive director Alan Fletcher, residential rates did not really change and actually went down a “slight amount” for the average user.

“All utility bills are local, meaning a home’s usage drives the price and each household’s usage differs, and it was very hot in June and July and usage may have been up due to increased use in air conditioning,” he said.

Fletcher agrees that the CNMI does pay higher bills than some areas around the world and that CNMI rates are higher than the U.S mainland but he pointed out that a comparison of rates with other utilities that use diesel fuel generation shows that CUC’s are among the lowest.

“CUC’s rates are set on a cost of service basis and to only recover the costs of operations,” he said.

Fletcher said that 70 percent of the electric rate is the fuel charge, the LEAC (levelized energy adjustment clause).

The Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission last month allowed CUC to adjust the LEAC charge every month, instead of every six months, which will allow CUC to adjust monthly pricing based on the “Means of Platts Singapore” or MOPS’ monthly pricing.

“The only way to truly affect the overall rate is to switch our fuel source. This is one of the main drivers of the Integrated Resource Planning that is now underway,” he said.

The integrated resource plan project’s purpose is to determine the best combination of both base-load and renewable energy sources capable of providing reliable power at the lowest price to consumers. CUC is now working with Leidos Engineering LLC on this.

Leidos will be conducting an independent third party technical evaluation and monitoring of the proposals set by CUC for a most “cost-effective, long-term” energy solution for consumers.

CUC rates now

As of April 17, CUC residential customers using 1 to 350 kWh per month will be assessed $0.0210 per kWh. For users of 351 to 1,200 kWh a month, they will be charged $0.0970 per kWh while customers using 1,200 kWh and above per month will be charged $0.1580 per kWh.

Because the Feb. 5 decision granted residential customers a refund pursuant to Public Law 16-7, a credit of $0.0230 per kWh will also take effect, in which CPUC last month approved it to continue until 2015 or later depending on how much will be distributed.

The infrastructure surcharge of $0.021 per kWh will remain for all CUC customers. This charge is intended to fund CUC’s remaining obligations under its June 2012 agreement with Pacific Marine and Industrial Corp. This surcharge applies to all customer classes and will expire on Jan. 1, 2015.

Commercial customers are charged at 0.1130 per kWh per month, while the government is charged at 0.1240 kWh per month.