On March 9, CUC filed an amended request to the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission to adjust its electric base rates.
The monthly increase would amount to about $5.96 for average residential users of 500 kwh, CUC said.
Those who use 250 kwh per month will pay an additional $4.21 a month.
But higher volume residential and commercial users will see greater increases per month, CUC said.
“For example, residential users of 1,000 kwh hours will pay approximately $20.46 more each month, and small businesses using 500 kwh will pay about $22.37 per month, or $41.37 per month for usages of 1,000 kwh,” CUC added.
This is the first increase in a decade to its in-house or electric “base” rates, CUC said.
According to CUC, a customer’s electric bill is divided into two parts: the base rate and the levelized energy adjustment clause or LEAC.
The base rate is the amount it costs CUC to pay for all of its costs to produce electricity.
These include buying parts to fix engines, buying poles, transformers, and other equipment to provide services to customers, CUC said.
CUC also needs to employ technicians and engineers to keep service running, Warren added.
Moreover, he said, CUC has to comply with the federal stipulated orders which require completion of costly projects under federal environmental laws.
The LEAC part of the bill is how much CUC has to pay for diesel and lube oil to run its engines to generate power.
Warren said CUC’s electric division needs to spend about $32 million per year to provide electricity service to its customers but it is only collecting about $19.9 million.
“It costs CUC approximately $80 million per year to buy fuel,” he added. “World oil prices have affected the cost of fuel this year, making it even more expensive to produce electricity.”
If CPUC grants CUC’s request, the increase takes effect on May 11.
CPUC will conduct a public hearing regarding on April 11 at 10 a.m. in the Marianas Public Land Trust conference room on Capital Hill.
The hearing was originally scheduled in the Saipan Chamber of Commerce conference room at the Family Building in Garapan.
