Introduced by Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, S.B. 17-40 will disallow CUC from averaging bills from month to month because it “might not accurately record meter readings on a monthly basis leading to drastically varied bills, prejudicing customers.”
The measure also requires that the security deposit required by CUC be a “progressive” amount based on the number of inhabitants in each dwelling.
In his veto message, Inos said the bill “will surely cripple the CUC and may adversely affect the commonwealth as a whole at some point.”
Inos, however, commends the Legislature for exploring options to ease the financial burden of CUC customers in these “trying economic times.”
He explained that CUC bills are at times averaged because meters are broken or inoperable, or may be behind locked gates, thus inaccessible for reading.
Inos also reminds lawmakers of the law that prevents CUC from billing for more than 32 days in a billing cycle.
So if reading is not obtained, CUC cannot wait until the following month to bill the actual usage of power, he added.
Inos said the averaging mechanism is “fair and objective.”
CUC, he said, takes the last six months of measured usage, eliminates the highest and lowest months then averages the other four months.
He said the dispute resolution as required by the bill is “unreasonable,” as it automatically favors the customer.
Some customers, he added, file disputes just to delay the billing process.
S.B. 17-40 also proposes to prevent CUC from contesting or seeking to recover unpaid charges after four years from the time of billing.
In order for such a provision to be possible, Inos said CUC will need more reliable meters, more meter readers and more hearing officers.
With regards to the bill’s security deposit provision, Inos said it may be discriminatory.
Basing the deposit simply on the number of persons in a dwelling will not necessarily make for a fair security deposit, the acting governor said.
For example, he added, two occupants of an air-conditioned dwelling may consume more power than a non-air-conditioned dwelling of four individuals.
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