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$500 ‘utilities stimulus’ is part of original ARPA spending plan
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Posted on Dec 14 2021
Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig said yesterday that he and his office is working closely with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. management to ensure that the $500 voucher given to residential account holders is processed properly for the month of December.
Atalig added that this “utilities stimulus” initiative was a part of the CNMI government’s original spending plan of American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Atalig said that $7.5 million is currently allocated for the “utilities stimulus” but if CUC identifies more accounts that did not receive $500, there is still time for CUC to notify the administration and be allocated more. However, based on current estimates of the number of CUC electrical residential accounts, with each account receiving $500, Atalig said the $7.5 million allocation should be accurate.
To his knowledge, Atalig said that CUC began uploading and crediting $500 to these accounts on Dec. 10 and that CUC is continuing to upload these $500 vouchers to its system.
Atalig thanked Go. Ralph DLG Torres for including the “utilities stimulus” as part of the ARPA spending plan, and lauded CUC for ensuring that the $500 vouchers are distributed smoothly to “our community that really needs this additional funding [and] support.” Atalig said this “utilities stimulus” is a one-time disbursement, but he hopes it would alleviate some financial pressures faced by the community as the holidays near.
Torres had announced during his weekly radio news briefings in early in December that the administration, working with the Department of Finance, will be giving $500 vouchers to every CUC residential account and a $500 bonus to retirees.
