By its own admission, this leaves CUC no choice but to raise the rates of those who actually pay their power bills.
Global trends are inching toward alternate energy options, wind and solar, chief among these, but without a coherent policy or plan to account for how they will apply to CUC and its customers, or whether independent power producers are legitimate businesses, the potential for real problems is clear.
For example, there is this proposal for a solar farm next to an apartment complex, presumably to provide power to the northern part of the island. Is this venture considered an independent power producer? Is this a private or a CUC project? Alternative power options should be encouraged but was this project properly vetted? What impact does this have on CUC’s revenue base? If northern customers can hook up to a new power producer, has the utility planned for the revenue shortfall? It is an interesting concept and all this is speculation because little information about this project is known at this time. These are details that should be considered, not as the basis for rejecting an alternative energy project but to ensure it is properly permitted, it is appropriate, and that an energy policy is developed to avert any disruptions that may result from unanticipated financial or environmental considerations.
Be prepared
HOTEL association members say a confluence of events are driving occupancy figures well below the seasonal lows of this period. Charter flights from Sichuan, China launched by Tinian Dynasty and Century Travel show that the private sector is valiantly keeping occupancy rates from flat lining even as hotels express hope that numbers will bounce back soon.
Commodity prices worldwide, however, are going up not down. Shipping rates and, therefore, food costs, fuel and other necessities are all increasing, placing additional pressure on families to make do with less. The personal financial seminar recently offered by local banks provided good ideas.
Financial planning is important to individuals — more so if their government has no use for it. Such seminars should be offered for a longer period of time as a public service.
The commonwealth should also brace for the possibility that the plans to relocate troops from Okinawa to Guam may not materialize as scheduled in light of the recent tragedies in Japan. Local governments should draft their budgets without factoring in the troop relocation. Tinian was considered for a modest buildup and Saipan, too, expected an indirect benefit from the military’s staging activities. But given the changed circumstances in Japan and the U.S., CNMI leaders, though still hoping for the best, should plan for the worst.
