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House rejects Senate changes to power bill
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Posted on Apr 16 2008
The House of Representatives rejected yesterday the Senate amendments to the bill reversing the October 2007 rollback of power rates.
Members of the lower chamber, by a vote of 17-2, agreed to send the bill to the Senate in the form that it first passed.
They maintain that the Senate-added requirement for the Public Utilities Commission to set new rates in 60 days cannot be done. It was learned that PUC will need at least six months to establish new utility, as the commissioners still have to undergo training.
Representatives Diego Benavente and Joseph Reyes voted against sending the bill back to the Senate, saying this will delay enactment of the bill.
House Bill 16-79, as originally approved by the House, would restore the previous rate structure that the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. adopted in 2006 in a bid to cope with oil price increases.
The bill would repeal Public Law 15-94, which forced residential rates down to 17 cents per kWh in October 2007, and either reduced or scrapped other charges for residential customers.
The Senate passed the bill with changes. Under the Senate-amended version, the rollback law would only be suspended for 60 days, instead of being scrapped altogether.
The Public Utilities Commission must set new rates within those 60 days. If the regulatory body fails to do so, the rolled-back rates will again come into effect.
The 15th Legislature passed P.L. 15-94 amid pressure from the consumers who were suffering from the sudden hike in power rates.
However, the Legislature’s action hurt the utility’s finances. According to CUC, the rollback, compounded by the rising cost of fuel, has caused the utility to face a monthly shortfall of about $1 million for fuel. For months now, the cash-strapped government has ended up paying millions of dollars in fuel subsidy to CUC.
This occurred even though the 17-cent rate remained in effect for one month only. In November 2007, CUC adopted emergency regulations that enabled the utility to adjust the power rates depending on fuel prices.
But the regulations expired last month. Currently, CUC is back to charging 17 cents per kWh.
