If the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. wants an interpretation of a recent law that changed the Public School System\u2019s water and wastewater rates from government to commercial, it should be the one to request the Office of the Attorney General and not PSS.<\/p>\n
This was Board of Education chair Herman Guerrero\u2019s answer to CUC after the utilities agency made comments to the Saipan Tribune that it could not move forward without the OAG\u2019s interpretation of Public Law 18-14.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not [PSS\u2019] role and responsibility\u201d to seek an interpretation of the law. He said if CUC has an \u201cissue [with the law] then they should be the ones who initiate the process\u201d to request an interpretation by the AG\u2019s office or through a ruling by the Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission.<\/p>\n
If PSS were not to agree with the AG\u2019s opinion, then that is when PSS would request for certification, according to Guerrero.<\/p>\n
Essentially, he said, \u201cWe are just obeying the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Public Law 18-14\u2014enacted last September\u2014CUC is mandated to change public school\u2019s water and wastewater rates from government to commercial.<\/p>\n
As reported earlier, this in effect lowered PSS water costs by 98.4 percent and its wastewater costs by 95.6 percent.<\/p>\n
Earlier, CUC chair Dave Sablan Jr. cited a need for the OAG\u2019s opinion if PSS is correctly interpreting the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to see our attorney general\u2019s opinion that [PSS is] correctly interpreting the law since September of last year or they need to present their case to the CPUC in order to get a ruling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a BOE meeting last week, PSS finance and budget director Derek Sasamoto indicated some of the effects of the law on water usage, as he stressed that there were probable water leaks in Marianas High School, Hopwood Junior High School, and Tanapag Elementary School.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for Public Law 18-19, these water charges [from the leaks] would be multiplied almost tenfold, so we would [have] hundreds of thousands [in charges] rather than tens of thousands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To date, PSS\u2019 past due balance for CUC sits at $7.8 million, with $6.38 million representing the principal amount for water, electrical, and wastewater services. PSS has $807,558 in late charges, which continues to accrue at 1 percent per month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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