PEOPLE want answers, Precinct 1 Rep. Vince Aldan told the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board of directors on Friday during the public comment portion of its meeting.
“I am not sure what kind of organization we are running here, because people are pretty tired, and I’m pretty sure you guys know that,” he said. “I will keep beating on it until people are satisfied…. The people are not happy with the fact…that the central government owes [CUC] a ton of money and they are not getting disconnected.”
Aldan said CUC “cannot…pass…on the delinquency to the rate payers. Maybe the ones that make a lot of money and live in their ivory tower are not affected because of their high salaries, but believe it or not…there are more people that are out there that are struggling.”
He said the people are really hurting. “We could all sit down here and talk about this and talk about that, but at the end of the day, they [the people] want something done quick, fast, and in a hurry. Si Tun Joaquin and Tan Maria are struggling. They don’t have the luxury of collecting taxpayer dollars to fund their bills — they have to work for it.”
“So when can this board move and explain to the people and give them assurance that their rates are going to be lowered?” Aldan added.
The Precinct 1 representative also started an online petition Friday at tinyurl.com/2p8shpmt/.
According to the petition, “CUC ratepayers have been shouldering the cost of unpaid utilities accrued by local government entities.”
If CUC does not collect monies owed, the petition added, “the utility infrastructure will continue to dilapidate due to insufficient funding, and the cost of service will continue to be high and will be higher.”
The petition stated that “utility rates will remain high due to mismanagement by top management and the board of directors.”
In a meeting with House members last year, CUC officials explained how power rates were set, and the need for the Legislature to appropriate funds for the government’s unpaid utility bills.
Aldan on Friday also asked the CUC board about the $3.4 million in employer contributions that CUC owes to the NMI Settlement Fund.
CUC will pay the NMISF in $50,000 monthly installments following the approval of their settlement agreement by the District Court for the NMI.
Aldan wants to know where CUC will get the money to pay the NMISF.
“This is a public corporation is it not? Do they not deserve an answer?” Aldan asked the CUC board.
CUC legal counsel Hunter Hunt informed Aldan that the public comment portion of the board meeting provides the public an opportunity to be heard.
“We certainly can respond [to your questions] through some correspondence…within 10 calendar days,” Hunt added.
Rep. Vince Seman Alda, center background, speaks during the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board meeting on Friday.
