By Del Benson
For Variety
ELECTRICITY’S on everybody’s mind. We’re unhappy with not having power, and it’s not coming on fast enough. But then we’re not going to be happy with the cost of the power we’ll face once it’s turned on.
I believe people will limit use. Businesses with thin profit margins will see profits shrink due to exorbitant power fees.
Freezers, AC, water heaters, washers and dryers will become luxury item.
I think this is how things are going to play out.
As a result, CUC will sell less power, have fewer paying customers, and see reduced revenue. Then there’s the concern that many people are simply throwing in the towel and leaving the islands.
So the question is: What is to be done? Has the CUC done everything possible to reduce their costs, or do they continue to carry operational bloat that drags them down?
Let’s look at this from another angle. Are the people partly to blame? How much don’t we want to pay? And since it’s a government agency, it doesn’t face the same fiscal discipline that a private company trying to make money would have. So we have the familiar argument: privatize it or keep it government-run.
Well, it’s heading toward receivership. What happens then? A friend mentioned Puerto Rico’s experience — I hope he shares those details.
But let’s consider a private sector arrangement. They first have to make money. In the past, I’ve heard suggestions of selling it to the government for $250 million. Are you serious? Who’s going to buy that?
For a utility operation, perhaps a buyer could take on the debt with negotiations for better rates, since they wouldn’t carry the full burden of infrastructure development. We also desperately need to examine fuel sources.
Rep. Vincent Aldan had an article on micro-nuclear with legitimate questions, but we need far more research than just reacting to the word “nuclear.” How do nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers handle it safely? We should also look at magma power — using the earth’s magma for maximum energy density. What about an LNG ship offshore running cable to shore? We’re stuck paying the highest costs with diesel generators, and that won’t change unless we change fuel.
Let us explore options. Anything involving diesel base load and backup should be avoided.
