CUC to carry out reforms
The board of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation is reviewing recommendations that will reform its operations and policies which officials hope will improve its services to the community.
Board Chair Jesus T. Guerrero said that while CUC has focused on the Saipan power project, other issues and concerns continue to draw much-needed attention.
“The board has spent a good deal of its time reviewing operations policies and practices, completing draft internal guidelines for the expenditure of official representation accounts, clarifying utility extension policies, which will now undergo internal review before final publication,” he told a recent meeting.
Mr. Guerrero, who was elected last Monday to a new one-year term as head of CUC’s policy-making body, has vowed to institute major policy changes and revamp the management in a move to improve its relations with the Legislature and the community.
The government-owned utility corporation has come under fire over the last two years due to the controversy stemming from its handling of the 80-megawatt plant proposed for Saipan.
Mr. Guerrero said Monday that the board is expected to begin negotiations with Texas-based conglomerate Enron by this month on the terms of the conditional award of the estimated $120 million contract after it completes its search for law firms to help them with the process.
Aside from looking into policies and practices, the board has already submitted draft amendments to the corporate bylaws for review and comment.
It has issued a request for proposals to provide arbitration services in settling easement claims — one of the long-standing problems that have beset CUC.
“This will accelerate the pace of capital improvement projects and establish a fair and quick resolution to these ongoing easement problems,” said Mr. Guerrero, citing recent settlement one lawsuit.
He pledged to continue addressing CUC’s operations problems and to enhance its customer service.
“We cannot pat ourselves on the back at this point because the rate of these improvements has been slow, but our customers should know that we are working on them. We are beginning to work more closely with management in an effort to implement changes more quickly,” the chairman said.
