Previous Story
CUC says Dandan payment office will be kept open
|
Posted on Jun 01 2005
Saipan residents may continue paying their utility bills at the Dandan customer service and payment offices even with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. moving to the former La Fiesta shopping complex in San Roque.
“We assure customers that they have two places to make payments—Dandan and soon at La Fiesta. They may still pay at the banks or mail checks. The most popular and easiest payment arrangement, however, is the direct credit card debit,” said CUC executive director Lorraine Babauta.
She reported that the utility firm was already in the process of moving the island’s northern area, while communications equipment such as telephones, fax machines, and Internet service was being prepared.
“CUC’s Dandan Customer Service Center remains open through the transition, and thereafter, to better serve customers on the central-south side of the island,” Babauta said.
The CUC executive explained that the move is part of the utility’s efforts to cut costs, particularly in view of high fuel prices.
“As [CUC] continues to deal with the issue of fuel deliveries, the [CNMI] Executive Branch has offered rent-free space at the La Fiesta government center. We are pleased to accept this offer, which will help us address our financial situation,” Babauta said.
CUC’s lease for the Joeten Dandan Building, which the utility has been occupying for the past several years, expired on Tuesday. The utility firm reportedly paid $500,000 a year for the Joeten building space.
In March, CUC issued an invitation for bids for the lease of office space for CUC’s administrative and operational needs. Three proposals were submitted in response to the invitation.
However, the utility firm subsequently opted to take up the government’s offer for CUC to move to La Fiesta. The decision came more than a week after the governor’s May 19 declaration of a state of disaster emergency and assumption of control of CUC.
The Governor’s Office, which provided money to purchase the facility for the Northern Marianas College’s Pacific Gateway project about two years ago, now owns the La Fiesta complex.
