Monday, December 15, 2008

PUC to fix CUC's LEAC

Friday evening isn't my best time to be public-spirited, so I'm grateful the Saipan Tribune covered Friday's PUC hearing. My first choice was judicious alcohol-poisoning with a tribe of misogynistic troglodytes, but I had to tend bar at USSP instead.

A three-hour hearing starting at six to kick off my weekend was right up there, but...

So I wasn't one of "About 15 people, many of whom were legislators" who still remember griping by candlelight a few months ago.

Then again, several people are quoted as being overwhelmed by the amount of information they were expected to digest, so I'd probably be in the same boat.

Better, then, that we have a Monday morning GUIDE TO CUC STIPULATIONS. Even that is frustrating: it doesn't give any figures; I assume none were thrown out in the hearing.

It appears the base rate won't change: "Both CUC and Georgetown agree that more work needs to be done before PUC considers restructuring the base rate, and recommend a base rate hearing before the end of 2009."

That leaves the fuel surcharge, reborn as the acronym LEAC.

So how exactly is this six-month "levelized energy adjustment clause" going to be determined?

"Under the tariff, CUC would be able to recover: fuel and generation lubricant costs and delivered fuel and other costs required by the supplier. The LEAC tariff also would factor in CUC's ability to establish and maintain a 30-day fuel inventory and to develop a reserve to support the availability and efficiency of generating units."

Oh.

So how exactly is this six-month "levelized energy adjustment clause" going to be determined?

1 comment:

Lil' Hammerhead said...

The "six month clause" is a big ruse. Oil prices have dropped so tremendously so quickly.. CUC finds itself in the predicament of no longer able to justify the outrageous kph rates. Solution: Time to stabilize rates for 6 months! What will the rate be? More likely than not.. something alot higher than we'd be paying if they were forced to keep reducing the kph due to dropping fuel prices.