Executive director Tony Muna cited a number of accomplishments the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has instituted even sans a rate increase.
This was in response to Rep. Tina Sablan's comment last week about CUC being ruled by “politics.”
Muna, in his e-mail message to Sablan, said the lawmaker's comments were not unexpected since it is election time.
The director said that he stands on his record of what he has done for CUC, its customers, and the public since being appointed last year.
“Having walked in here in May of 2008 and such was the case for those areas in CUC and possibly going back to 1993, did you really expect all of those areas of deficiency to be corrected by 9/30/09 while enveloped in a power generation crisis which was threatening a water and wastewater crisis?” Muna told Sablan in his e-mail, adding that from a standpoint of priorities, resolving the power generation crisis has been priority No. 1 since Day 1 of his directorship.
He mentioned having provided sufficient power even without the $6-million Aggreko deal since last September.
Muna cited that they have also accomplished other things like chlorine shipments sufficiency are secure and payments for the Aggreko lease deal. CUC also paid vendors who were not paid dating back several years and is currently addressing the island's collapsing sewer lines.
This is on top of paying for water pumps and sewer pumps and addressed main waterline collapsed, paid for fuel, and independent power producers.
“All of the above without a government subsidy since July of 2008,” Muna said.
On claim of Sablan that CUC lacks the accounting protocols to properly track billings and collections for the water, wastewater, and power divisions, Muna said CUC is billing customers for electric, water, and wastewater separately so those revenues are being tracked. “CUC is also keeping track of expenses separately. Protocols are there to track revenues and expenses,” he said.
Muna said CUC's problems date back to years and years of neglect.
“We can use 1993 as an official start date since CUC shortfalls in funding, staffing etc.. are well documented in the Metzler Report-of noncompliance and underachieving. Mind you, CUC is not all to blame. Governors, legislators, and boards have all had a hand in causing CUC's demise. This governor has been trying to turn things around since Day 1 of his administration. I do not share the same sentiment of many of your colleagues,” Muna added.
He said he was hired to fix the problem.
“You, unfortunately, despite your best intentions are part of the problem. CUC is doing its best to comply and reversing years of being out of compliance,” Muna told Sablan, adding that like CUC, Rome was not built in a day.
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