Promulgation of regulations for PL 15-23

Congratulations to Mr. Diego Songsong on your appointment as Secretary of Public Works. It’s a big job and I wish you good luck!

I am not sure if this appeal should be sent to DPW or CUC, but in either case I feel the message is necessary, if our residents are to help with our power problems.

Saipan has a critical problem with providing reliable electrical power to its population. WOW, is that an understatement?! Public Law 15-23 might help with this crisis if regulations, i.e. guidelines, were written to assist the energy-conscious public in taking advantage of this law.

PL 15-23 allows producers of electricity from alternative energy sources to feed their excess power back in to the grid and thus reduce their power costs. I would like to do this, but I cannot because the regulations for PL 15-23 have never been published, even in a draft form.

Public Law 15-23 became law in August of 2006. Where are the regulations? If we are serious in wanting to decrease our dependency on Middle East oil and bring down our costs for power, then the individual businesses and homeowners need to have the incentive to do so. We have a longstanding law that provides an incentive for using alternative energy sources, but is unusable because no regulations have been promulgated.

Can somebody tell me which agency, CUC or DPW, is not fulfilling its obligation to the public?

When governments are unable to resolve big problems like our unreliable power supply, individuals or non-profit organizations can take up the slack, if only they are given the tools to do so. For example, if you are a young married couple planning to build your first home, wouldn’t it be prudent planning to consider a means by which that new home is energy self-sufficient? Most people planning to build a new home must borrow money, i.e. have a mortgage, to do so. Wouldn’t it be appropriate to include the cost of energy self-sufficiency in that mortgage loan? My estimate is that most single family dwellings aiming for energy independence could be built by adding less than $10,000 to the total cost.. Most mortgages are for 20, 25, or 30 years. This would mean adding less than $50 per month to your 20-year mortgage payment and never having to pay for unreliable, centrally generated electricity. Plus, when your mortgage is paid off, your electricity is free. No power outages.

Enabling our citizenry to solve problems is a responsibility of the government. The Legislature did their part. They originated the law. The Governor did his part. He signed the legislation in to law. Some government agency in the Executive Branch has failed. Is it CUC or DPW? If the answer is DPW, I hope, Mr. Songsong, you make the promulgation of regulations for PL 15-23 a top priority. The energy-concerned people of Saipan are waiting.

If someone out there knows what the hang-up is on producing these regulations, my e-mail is ludwick@itecnmi.com