By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

CHEAPER fuel from Mobil allowed the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to share its savings with customers who are now paying lower power rates, according to CUC spokeswoman Pamela Mathis.
She said CUC has lowered its electric fuel rate from $0.196 to $0.188 per kilowatt hour as a result of decreasing fuel prices.
The rate is down by 13 percent compared to August last year, a month after the rate increase took effect in July.
Mathis said this is their lowest fuel rate since the new rates took effect last year.
“We are passing these savings on to our customers,” she added.
According to Mathis, the fuel rate depends on many factors. “That includes the world price of fuel and the refinery cost in Singapore. So even though rates may go down elsewhere it really depends on the Singapore rates at the time of refining. When the Mobil ship is filled with the fuel, that’s when they set the price.”
Mobil also has “add-ons” to its price which include delivery fees and tax, Mathis said.
CUC, she added, “looks at the price of fuel and at how much fuel it takes to create one kilowatt hour of energy in the engines before we factor in the estimated amount that CUC will charge to the CNMI in a given month.”
The new lower rate, she said, applies throughout February which means “that (customers) will see it in their March bill.”