CUC: FAC remains the same for November
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. said yesterday that the fuel adjustment charge remains at $0.18803 per kilowatt-hour for the month of November.
Although there has been a slight increase in the Mean of Platts Singapore monthly pricing from July 2019 to November 2019 as notified by Mobil Oil Mariana Islands, Inc., the increase did not equal or exceed a 4.5% differential of the average per gallon cost of fuel.
The FAC is one of two components that make up the CUC electric kWh rate, which is used to purchase fuel. The second component is the CUC base rate, which is used to fund operations, projects, and debt service. This base rate has not been increased since April 17, 2014.
CUC is required, pursuant to an order previously issued by the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission, to adjust (up or down) the FAC pass-through rate when the Mean of Platts Singapore monthly pricing equals or exceeds a 4.5% differential of the average per gallon cost of fuel used in the calculation of the current FAC rate.
CUC first instituted the levelized energy adjustment clause in 2009 to recover fuel and fuel related costs, a system also used by power providers in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In May 2015, the CPUC authorized CUC to change the name of LEAC to FAC to provide customers a more accurate description of the electric rate.
CUC is a non-profit autonomous agency of the CNMI government that provides electric power, water, and wastewater services to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. (PR)