‘Pay CUC $800K now to stop power cuts to PSS, CHC’

Commonwealth Utilities Corp. officials told lawmakers yesterday that an immediate payment of at least $800,000 to pay for portions of the Public School System and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s outstanding utility bills will not only restore power but also prevent disconnection in some public schools and certain areas of the hospital, even as both the Senate and House let another day pass without agreeing on the fate of a line of credit bill that could help pay CUC at least $5 million.

Despite a whole day of separate meetings yesterday, both the Fitial administration and the Legislature were unable to reprogram or identify money to immediately pay CUC $800,000 on behalf of PSS and CHC.

That means power will not be restored to affected schools’ administrative offices and certain units of CHC.

Board of Education chair Marylou S. Ada, right after meeting with House members, said the board and PSS had been communicating with the administration yesterday but there’s still no assurance that payment to CUC is forthcoming to restore power at schools’ administrative offices.

PSS and CHC have total outstanding obligations to CUC of over $6 million. CUC spends some $1.3 million in fuel alone every week.

CUC deputy executive director Alan Fletcher, however, confirmed that the Department of Finance issued a $300,000 check yesterday, mostly for the central government’s utility billings.

Of that $300,000, the $250,000 is for the central government’s regular utility payments, while $50,000 is to help settle the old balance for PSS.

“They [central government] pay us every week that’s why they’re not disconnected,” Fletcher said.

He and CUC executive director Abe Malae met with Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) and other senators yesterday morning, and again in the afternoon during a Senate session.

House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan), after talking to Malae, said he was also told that if there’s at least $400,000 payment for PSS’ debts, power will be restored to the affected administrative offices.

Cabrera said he was on his way to meet with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial late afternoon yesterday. Fletcher also said Malae was on his way to meet with the governor late afternoon yesterday.

The speaker said the Legislature, as he understands, need not work on a line of credit or loan bill addressing CHC because the corporation’s crisis will now be taken cared of by the governor’s emergency declaration for the hospital.

Cabrera said the House leadership will reject today the Senate version of Rep. Ray Basa’s (Cov-Saipan) bill on an $11.58 million line of credit for CHC and PSS mainly because it is unconstitutional. Moreover, with the governor’s emergency declaration for CHC, the House leadership will now be focusing on PSS.

He said the House leadership may just entertain a revised bill that only provides $3.5 million line of credit for PSS so it can pay CUC.

The Senate version of Basa’s House Bill 17-278 would have given $3.5 million to CUC for payment of PSS outstanding bills, and another $1.5 million to CUC for CHC’s outstanding bills.

Manglona and other senators, however, would like to find out from the Fitial administration whether the emergency declaration for CHC would already take care of CHC’s financial crisis or should the Legislature still need to pursue the $11.58 million line of credit bill for both CHC and PSS.

There was no immediate response from the administration on this, senators said.

CUC’s Fletcher said there are two components of the issue: One is the immediate payment of $800,000, and two, come up with payment agreement.

“We would get them back [on] but we need to have an agreement which we have proposed before for such payment arrangements so we can start putting the bills current and we could pay down the arrears and that’s really important,” he said, adding that without such payment plan, “we will be right back here in another month or another two months.”