Georgetown Consulting Group, in a report to CPUC, also noted the poor payment practices of the CNMI government and other ratepayers.
“The governmental receivables impact CUC to a larger extent because government customers make up a disproportionate share of CUC’s sales,” Georgetown said.
CUC will be forced into a day-to-day crisis mode if the government and other ratepayers continue to delay their payments, Georgetown added.
CUC has recently undertaken a total review of its outstanding accounts receivable.
It has identified that a large number of these accounts are in excess of 12 months — some have been outstanding for 10 years, according to Georgetown.
Most of the older accounts are inactive and are not being provided utility services.
Georgetown said CUC has retained a collection agency to go after older accounts while it deals with the more recent accounts.
“To the extent an account is currently active and in arrears, CUC is disconnecting such accounts in accordance with its service rules and policies,” Georgetown said.
Maintain engines
Georgetown also said that if properly maintained, the diesel engines of CUC’s power plants could perform at their designed efficiency level.
The recent rehabilitation efforts of CUC have resulted in considerable dividends to its ratepayers, Georgetown said.
However, these efforts also came at a considerable cost to ratepayers, CUC and the federal government, according to the regulatory consultant.
“If CUC’s engines had been properly maintained it would have not needed to totally rehabilitate Power Plant 1,” Georgetown said.
CUC has indicated that it will place a high priority on maintenance planning to keep its engines operating at peak efficiency and the lowest cost possible.
Georgetown said “it is important that the recent gains in engine availability and performance not be lost and that the institutional knowledge gained during the rehabilitation period be maintained and expanded.”
While CUC has demonstrated that it can undertake corrective actions to restore its diesel engines into service, Georgetown believes that the agency must also have a sustainable maintenance management program in place.
CUC “must create a culture where maintenance is an ongoing responsibility and not an exception if the gains made during the recent rehabilitation are to be permanent,” Georgetown added.
