FOR ILLEGAL WATER, POWER CONNECTION CUC wants tougher laws

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation has sought stricter penalties against illegal tapping of power and water services, saying the practice has deprived the agency hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenues every year.

Imposing fines is the only effective deterrent to the unlawful practice, unlike criminal penalties which would not allow the government-owned utility firm to recover the lost earnings and could only burden the justice system, according to CUC Executive Director Timothy P. Villagomez.

The recommendation was made to the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications during a recent hearing on HB 12-175 which seeks to address rising cases of illegal utility connections on the islands.

The practice, Mr. Villagomez said, has also cost CUC because of the time spent in investigating and disconnecting illegal connections.

“A civil penalty has the potential to reduce losses and costs, because people who have only faced disconnection and back billing for tampering and illegal connection will now know that the costs of their illegal activity will be higher and repeated violations will result in a significant penalty,” he told the hearing.

But he stressed the proposed penalties would only be applied for deliberate acts and only after a CUC engineer has made a report on the violation. Anyone charged will also have the right to contest the finding and the right to a hearing and protections of the law.

“CUC asks that the Legislature give this bill serious consideration as a means to assist CUC in reducing revenue loss which hampers both operations and service to paying customers,” added Mr. Villagomez.

Likewise, the utility chief expressed support for legislation regulating private wells here which he said is necessary in view of the limited water resources on the islands.

He maintained that HB 12-178 should be amended to include provisions that will authorize CUC to administer the program and oversee the funds to be collected from private well owners.

Use of the funds should be determined by CUC together with other agencies like the Northern Marianas College, the Division of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Legislature.

“This would place the responsibility for planning and reporting on the agency already charged with these functions and reduce the obstacles to taking expedient action,” said Mr. Villagomez.

The proposal would help resolve perennial water shortage facing Saipan whose wells and springs have suffered in recent months. The situation has been worsened by the fact that over two billion gallons of water a year are used by private well owners without any regulations.

“It is time that all users be required to pay their fair share for their use of this limited and essential resources,” the CUC chief said.