THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s losses for the first six months of fiscal year 2002 totaled $2.3 million, according to CUC comptroller Rufo T. Mafnas.
In a report to the CUC board of directors yesterday, Mafnas said “this loss takes into consideration interest in the amount of $3.8 million that would have been due” to the Commonwealth Development Authority.
“However, if or when we enter into the settlement agreement, a net income of either $1 million or $1.6 million would result for the first half of FY 2002,” Mafnas said.
If the CUC-CDA settlement agreement materializes, CUC will have to pay CDA about $880,000 a year in guaranteed dividend payments.
This, according to Mafnas, can be reduced to about $580,000 if CUC “internally” funds capital improvements amounting to $15 million.
Bernard Villagomez, CUC executive director, said the utilities agency’s financial status has been “impacted” by the loss of Verizon’s regular franchise fees of about $200,000. The fee now goes to the Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission.
“Power generation revenues are (also) still decreasing as medium-sized commercial accounts close,” Villagomez said.
But despite an ongoing major overhaul of three power engines and a reduced operating revenue of 2 percent, CUC managed to gain an operating profit greater than $2 million, Mafnas said.
For general and administrative costs, CUC said it lowered its expenditure by about $1.2 million.
“In fact, for the same period last fiscal year, CUC reduced its overtime cost by nearly half a million or $488,537,” Mafnas said.
Mafnas and Villagomez said the financial condition of CUC continues to improve compared to previous years.
The CUC board led by outgoing Chairman Edward Sablan, whose term expires today, also adopted yesterday the FYs 2002 and 2003 budgets for the agency.
Francisco Camacho, CUC board member, said the FY 2003 budget of $49 million is $3.3 million or 5 percent less than the FY 2002 budget.
