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Power rate more than doubles
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Posted on May 06 2008
Residential customers are in for a shock when they get their power bills next month, after the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. revised its power rates yesterday, increasing them to more than double the previous rates.
The action comes soon after Gov. Benigno R. Fitial on Saturday signed into law the measure that suspends the power rates rollback.
Effective Saturday, the rate for residential customers for the first 500 kilowatt-hour is 37.3 cents per kWh—the highest ever electric rate in the CNMI.
For those with consumptions ranging from 501 to 1,000 kWh, the rate is now 42.3 cents; for those that range from 1,000 to 2,000 kWh, it is 44.3 cents; and for those with over 2,000 kWh, it is 48.4 cents.
The residential rates more than doubled because CUC is now charging 35.7 cents for the fluctuating electric fuel rates.
For businesses, the May rate is not good news either. CUC is now charging commercial customers 44.3 cents per kWh.
The rate for the government is 44.8 cents per kWh and for non-conforming load users, it is 57.9 cents per kWh.
Last April, businesses paid the fixed 8.6 cents for electric non-fuel rate and 32.7 cents for electric fuel rate, for a total of 41.3 cents for all kWh billed.
Since March 2008 up to May 2008, residential customers have been paying the lowest rate pursuant to Public Law 15-94, which had capped the power rates at 17.6 cents per kWh.
CUC had complained that this law caused a monthly shortfall of $1 million in fuel costs alone. That shortfall has also resulted in frequent power outages.
