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House tells CUC not to impose surcharge fee
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Posted on Oct 25 2004
The House of Representatives unanimously adopted yesterday a resolution urging the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to stop its plan to raise utility rates, including surcharge fees.
House Resolution 14-8, introduced by Rep. Janet Maratita, called on the CUC “to cease all actions being taken to increase the power rates until the privatization, utility rates, and surcharge fee studies have been presented and reviewed by the Legislature.”
The lawmakers said they are “utterly concerned” about the CUC’s proposed power rate hike as it would only drive up the cost of goods and services in the CNMI.
The resolution said “the Legislature understands that the rise in operational costs is in part a result of the hike in fuel prices as well as the uncollected payments from delinquent customers.”
But the lawmakers said that any form of increase should be reviewed and approved first by the Legislature.
The central government is the CUC’s biggest customer with the biggest amount owed the utility firm. Reports have it that the government owes CUC $18.3 million in cumulative debt.
Maratita said that House Vice Speaker and House Public Utilities, Transportation, and Communications Committee chair Rep. Timothy Villagomez supported the resolution.
Villagomez had earlier said that he agreed with the imposition of a fuel surcharge fee, provided that it would not be used for CUC operations. He had also said that such rate should not be passed on to low-income families.
The CUC has decided to implement a 3.5 cent surcharge fee per kilowatt-hour by December, increasing the electricity rate to 14.5 cents per kwh for residential customers and 19.5 cents per kwh for commercial customers.
