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CUC reduces LEAC rates anew
The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has reduced its LEAC rates once again for the month of January, according to CUC executive director Alan Fletcher.
“CUC announces a reduction in the LEAC or levelized energy adjustment clause fuel charge pass-through. Due to continued decline in average full prices, CUC is able to reduce the fuel charge by 16.93 percent and consumers will see a drop in power bills of about .4 cents per kWh effective with their January usage,” Fletcher said.
The current LEAC fuel-charge of $.23616 per kWh will be reduced to $.19617 per kWh. A residential account using 500 kWh will see a decrease of $20 per month.
The LEAC counts for 70 percent of a customer’s bill and is one of two components of a power bill.
CUC had already decreased its LEAC rates thrice last year. The first time was in September, from $.30426 per kWh to $.28902 per kWh. CUC reduced its LEAC rate again in November to $.25168 per kWh. The third time was last month, to $.23616 per kWh.
CUC gets their LEAC pricing on the last day of the month through the first day of the new month from Mobil Marianas and that’s where CUC sees a threshold for a change.
LEAC adjustments are made when the “Mean of Platts Singapore” or MOPS monthly pricing equals or exceeds 4.5 percent of the average per gallon cost of fuel used in the calculation of the LEAC charge.
“CUC is encouraged by the continued downward trend in the oil markets, noting that since mid-2014 consumers have experienced just over a 35-percent decline in the LEAC. Obviously, this is great news as every dollar saved on fuel directly translates into lower power bills, which means more spending power for consumers here in the CNMI,” Fletcher said.
