The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is stepping up the pressure on the central government and the Public School System to pay the more than $3 million CUC believes is owed it. <\/p>\n
According to CUC\u2019s records, the central government owes the utility company $1.6 million in past debts while PSS owes $1.8 million, CUC executive director Antonio Mu\u00f1a said yesterday. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith central government and PSS, they really need to come to terms with reality,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a earlier said that CUC was counting on the $3.4 million to help pay for the $6 million Aggreko generators, including $504,000 that is due in a few weeks. <\/p>\n
PSS Education Commissioner Rita Sablan said that, according to their records, they do not owe money to CUC. <\/p>\n
She earlier said school administrators have indicated there are discrepancies between what CUC\u2019s meter readers are calculating and what school meter readers are calculating.<\/p>\n
PSS paid an average of $400,000 each month during fiscal year 2007 and paid $4 million to CUC for the entire fiscal 2007 year, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo our records, we don\u2019t owe anything,\u201d Sablan said.<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a said yesterday he has asked one of his accounting officials to contact PSS to set up a meeting to reconcile the payments. <\/p>\n
In July, PSS reallocated $1.6 million to CUC after Finance Secretary Eloy Inos became involved in the situation. <\/p>\n
PSS\u2019 director of Finance would not release their payment records, but an Open Government Act request was submitted. An OGA request was also made for CUC\u2019s records.<\/p>\n
Mu\u00f1a has been in communication with Inos regarding the government\u2019s outstanding debt, he said, adding that although the government provides important resources to the public, they are not immune to paying for their power. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know they provide services, but at some point they need to come to reality,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
For every dollar that CUC is owed and not paid, that\u2019s one dollar lost to the utility company, Mu\u00f1a said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we have a large sector [not paying], that will really put some stress on us financially,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Last week, Mu\u00f1a said he was hoping to receive the $3.4 million by the end of September, but yesterday he said he was now aiming to receive the money by the first week of October, in time to meet the Aggreko payment deadline. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jack Brown, an engineer from Guam\u2019s U.S. Naval Base, toured CUC\u2019s power plants yesterday, looking at the engines and control room. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt will probably be some time before he makes any kind of assessment,\u201d Mu\u00f1a said, adding that Brown may make another visit. \u201c[Yesterday] is just basically orientation, just a quick overview.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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