CUC profits from increasing heat

| 04/11/2019 | 16 Comments
Cayman News Service
Caribbean Utilities Company

(CNS): Grand Cayman’s monopoly power provider, CUC, is enjoying record demand for electricity and profiting from an increase in customers as well as a hot summer. Sales for the three months ending 30 September were up 8% compared to 2018, driven by an increase in monthly temperatures by almost one full degree. The company’s customer numbers grew by 2% to over 30,000 and also witnessed a new peak demand of 113.5 megawatts in August, eclipsing the previous peak of 105.6 in 2017.

President and CEO Richard Hew said the financial results for the third quarter of this year continued a trend of positive results for CUC.

“The record level of electricity demanded by our customers is being met in a safe and efficient manner by the continuous reinvestment in modern
equipment and development of our people,” he said, in a release announcing the figures and CUC’s net earnings for the three month period of $10.4 million.

“Year to date, the company has invested $43.7 million in the physical infrastructure required to meet present and future customer service requirements. Major projects such as the new Seven Mile Beach and Prospect substations, the control room and control system are progressing as planned and we look forward to commencing the recently approved battery storage project and connecting more renewable energy to the grid as outlined by the Integrated Resource Plan. The Company expects that the initial savings to the customers from the battery storage project will be approximately $1 million per annum.”

He stated that CUC was expecting to invest over $270 million towards system extension and upgrades over the next five years.

CUC’s operating income for Q3 2019 totalled $9.7 million, an increase of $0.3 million on 2018, which it said was due to demand and the increase in the use of air-conditioning to combat the high temperatures in July, August and September.

The company said power from renewable sources has inched over 10.3MW from 9.7MW this time last year.

See the full report on the CUC website


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Category: Business, utilities

Comments (16)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Every month, about 5% of our household CUC power bill is collected for “Government Fuel Duty” which, according to the Office of the Auditor General’s 2018 Report, quoting HM Customs department, gets reallocated to the National Road Authority’s road development fund – in the amount of some additional $8mln a year.

    If this is the case, we should see the duty collection and pass-through transaction accounted in CUC’s SEDAR filings for the TSX. Yet, I can’t find any discernible mention of that line item collection, or any number that might resemble an approximation of what ought to be explicitly accounted for.

  2. Kurt Christian says:

    Vote No

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Go buy CUC shares!

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Stay over tourists and blocking the dock will drop CUC bill. Then Government will pay all poor people on NAU. It a win-win for everyone who is suffering. Plus all the dive companies will be hiring at least one Caymanian each. LOL

  5. Anonymous says:

    So what’s the surprise here??? OfReg is as useful as a fart in the wind; after all it’s them approving the rate hikes when you have families having to choose between food and electricity!!! A disgrace is what it really is!!!

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Pretty hard on the average joe…tough times out here…

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  7. Anonymous says:

    CUC doing well. So far no update from OfReg on the progress with renewing the licence for Cayman Brac Power & Light…expired in Dec 2018…

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  8. Sharky says:

    All I can say from past experience is that when their profits go up so do their rates. It’s know as a win win situation.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    more of Alden pillaging the country on his way out

    https://caymannewsservice.com/2019/07/regulator-approves-cuc-hike/

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  10. Anonymous says:

    CUC profits from politicians controlling rate limitations while owning a s..tload of CUC shares.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    cuc or politicians?

  12. Anonymous says:

    Heat is rising because of climate change due to fofuel emissions.

    We burn fuel to cool air.

    What a downward spiral to be in

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