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Utility vouchers now valid until March 2016
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has been approved to extend the validity of the utility vouchers that Best Sunshine International gave CUC’s Saipan customers last year.
The $10-million credit vouchers expired on Oct. 31.
“Those [vouchers] expired October. And so, not all the amount was consumed by the customers, so the CUC board asked the governor if they could be extended,” acting executive director John Riegel said in an interview after the CUC’s special board meeting last week.
During the meeting, CUC legal counsel James Sirok announced the approval of the extension.
“The governor has approved the extension of the expiration of our vouchers,” Sirok said.
According to Sirok, instead of until Oct. 31, the vouchers can now be used until March 1, 2016.
Each eligible household were credited $635.71 in their accounts. Eligibility was on an account basis only and not directed to individual persons. Residential customers got their voucher assistance through an electronic credit process that was added to their account.
Not everyone was able to use it, especially those who didn’t have utilities after Typhoon Soudelor.
The $10-million utility assistance was part of BSI’s community chest fund, which the company had vowed to release 60 days after it was issued an exclusive license to build a casino resort on Saipan.
BSI has also promised $20 million, within 60 days after starting the construction of the casino, that will go to education, scholarships, infrastructure, health care, and employee retirement benefits.
