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Incentive tariff contract for large customers is nearing completion
The proposed master Incentive Rate contract that was agreed upon between the regulatory Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission and the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for large commercial customers is close to being finished, according to CUC executive director Alan Fletcher.
“We’re working on that now on the legal side. We’re just about done and it is going to the hearing examiner for administrative approval to make sure it fits with the stipulation and the requirements of CPUC,” Fletcher told Saipan Tribune.
Fletcher said they have the incentive rate in place after the May agreement and they are just finishing of the contract and paperwork, and that CUC is ready to implement the incentive rate.
“We want to get these folks back on the grid and we know we have a couple of large self-producers today that are anxious to come back on the grid and they were waiting for this rate to be approved,” he said.
CUC consultant economist.com and CPUC consultant Georgetown Consulting Group signed the joint agreement in May that recommends the implementation of a tariff rider incentive rate that would apply to three classes of commercial customers.
First are existing commercial customers that currently generate 90 percent or more of their annual electric needs and have an installed generation capacity of 400 kW.
Second are commercial customers that expand their existing facility that results in an increased load of 200 kW or greater or expand their hotel by 75 rooms or greater.
Third are new commercial customers with electric generation capacity of 400 kW or greater.
Also included in the experimental tariff are large customers on Tinian and Rota.
Economist.com managing director Robert Young earlier said that the IR tariff represents 8.3 cents per kWh discount from the current commercial rate, which is roughly a 3-cent per kWh base rate on top of the current LEAC.
Young said it represents a reduction or discount in the cost per kWh for incentive rate purchases of about 31 percent from CUC’s commercial rate.
Young also said that with the expiration of the “infrastructure surcharge” in January 2015, the incentive rate discount will fall to 25 percent.
