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CUC asked to subsidize utility cost of indigents
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Posted on Aug 14 1999
In a bid to help low-income families meet their mounting utility bills, the House of Representatives has urged the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation to subsidize the costs of providing electricity and water to their homes.
But CUC officials said they still need to review its financial impact before granting subsidy, asking legislators to seek other means of funding to pay their utility bills.
The plea for help came as government aid under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP runs out of funds. The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs has projected shortfall of at least $100,000 until the end of Fiscal 1999 in September.
Nearly 500 individuals, most of them elderly and disabled, are recipients of the LIHEAP grants. Families under the program have an average monthly CUC billing of $73 and only about $28 is shouldered by the government.
CUC Executive Director Timothy P. Villagomez has asked legislators to find other sources of funding to cover shortfall in the subsidy, saying the government-owned utility firm may not be able to accommodate their request.
As a step to ease their burden, he also pledged not to disconnect customers receiving public subsidy if they fail to settle their dues immediately.
In a resolution adopted by the House during this week’s session, members prodded the utility corporation to use portion of its revenues from connection and reconnection fees paid by residential and commercial customers to assist indigent residents here.
They also called on CUC to waive the cost of installing new power poles and new transformers in the homes of LIHEAP recipients, noting that these low-income families could barely meet their daily necessities, such as food and shelter, amid economic hardships besetting the CNMI.
Offered by Rep. David M. Apatang, chair of the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications, the resolution has no force of law to require CUC to comply with its provisions.
