Public ‘freaks’ over CUC bills
(CNS): Grand Cayman’s power provider, Caribbean Utilities Company, was at the centre of a social media storm this week as power bills began arriving in people’s inboxes. The public freaked out over higher than expected charges, accusing the power providers of gouging. CUC has not answered direct inquiries on this yet but it appears there are no rate rises. However, with people working from home due to the COVID-19 curfews and warmer weather, their power consumption has increased.
CNS and other media houses sent questions to CUC, who acknowledged receipt of those questions. But on Thursday the firm issued a public circular warning customers that their energy use was likely to have increased given the circumstances and things were likely to get worse.
While many people were claiming their usage had not increased, there is no apparent hike in any of the elements that make up the bills. People also complained bitterly about the fuel rate, which was as high as the previous months despite the rock bottom oil prices. But that is because CUC buys its diesel long before it arrives and so the fuel factor is subject to the same lag in price reduction as local gas stations, recently sanctioned by the utilities regulator, OfReg
During Friday’s COVID-19 press conference, Premier Alden McLaughlin said he was aware of the “firestorm” when people got these high electricity bills even though the bottom has fallen out of the oil market. The premier pointed out that everyone is home and the weather is getting warmer. But he said the fuel surcharge, which is a separate item on the bill and which CUC is not allowed to mark up, was based on what CUC paid when they bought the diesel two months ago.
“But based on the information I have, by the June and July bills people will see a significant reduction on the fuel charge,” he said but warned that the bills will probably not be any less because everyone will be using more power.
According to the flyer sent out by CUC, families can indeed expect things to get worse as the people continue to work remotely and temperatures rise. Offering tips on tracking consumption and how to cut down energy use, CUC warned their customers that air-conditioning is estimated to be 70% of the energy they are consuming at home.
Meanwhile, in its its first quarter financial results for 2020 published this week, the company said it had not yet seen an impact on its financial situation from the COVID-19 pandemic related measures. But the company said it was bracing itself for the health crisis to hit its bottom line in the results for the next quarter.
Results for the three months did, however, see a drop in earnings by $600,000, even though the volume of customers increasing by 3%. CUC said the drop was due to higher depreciation, transmission and distribution and finance charges. But electricity sales grew significantly, with revenues at $21.2 million for Q1, an increase of $0.9 million compared to this time last year. This was because at the end of March customers had increased by 789 to 30,734.
The customer base and revenue is likely to decline in the next set of results. The lockdown measures were imposed only during the last week of the period, but by the end of June CUC’s major commercial clients will have been closed for a full three months. While the noted increase in residential consumption is bound to offset some of the commercial decline, the closure of all the hotels and the restaurants will take its toll on profits.
President and CEO Richard Hew said that, given that the lockdown did not did not occur until the middle of March, the impact is not fully reflected in the company’s first quarter results.
“In the coming months we will be better able to assess the impact the pandemic has on the economy of the Cayman Islands and CUC’s operational and financial performance,” he said. Thanking CUC workers for their transition to home working or those who have adjusted their work methods to continue serving on the front-line, he said health and safety was a top priority.
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I found it amazing that no one who commented on this story made a reference to any data, like their actual electricity consumption and bill amount.
I’ve had a look my latest CUC bill (06May2020). This is actually the bill for my consumption of 1209kwh in April 2020; the amount is $292.98.
I also see from my bill that my usage increased from 907kwh in March 2020 to 1209kwh in April, or 33%. Now I can question why usage has gone up that amount. When I look at an older bill from say 04Oct2019, the usage for March and April 2019 were 929kwh and 1,184kwh, respectively, or April 2019 was 30% higher than March 2019. So the 33% increase this year isn’t much different from last year. Also, I note that my 929kwh in March 2019 was 22kwh or 2% greater than my 907kwh in March 2020, and my 1209kwh in April 2020 is only 25kwh or 2% more than the 1184kwh in April 2019.
Also, I see that from my 04Oct2019 bill that back in Sept 2019, my consumption was 1216kwh, almost the same amount as the 1209kwh that I consumed in April 2010. I also see see that the bill for my Sept 2019 consumption was $313.51. Clearly my May bill of $292.98 (for April 2020 consumption) is about $20 less than my Oct 2019 bill (for Sept 2019 consumption) of almost the same kwh.
So why is this?
When you compare the breakdown or build-up of the two bills, the only item that is significantly down is Fuel Cost – $149.45 on my 04October2019 bill vs $129.41 on my 06May2020 bill, or $20 less.
Now, if you look at https://www.cuc-cayman.com/customer-service/understanding-your-bill/ and scroll over Fuel Cost, you will see that it says at the end ‘2mos lagging’. I’m expecting, therefore, to see this go down a bit more in my next bill.
We’re all entitled to feel however we wish to feel about CUC and their bills, but wouldn’t our complaints be more convincing if we substantiated them with the data that is obviously available from our bills?
…. you are assuming that the KWH figures are accurate….
Very good comment! But people are here to complain, nobody wants to dig out old bills and think about why their bills are up. Some commenters here even seem to believe CUC is storing electricity!!
Cuc too disgusting. I’ve been staying by my fiancé for the past 3 weeks and my place has been locked up. The Cuc bill for my place was over $200. How is that possible when I wasnt even at my place?!?!?!
I’m guessing you left the a/c and fridge on.
At least they warned us it could get worse, oh and don’t forget! The yearly rate increase just in time for the summer months. As a company who makes a huge profit every year, let’s see if they will have a heart this year in spite of everything and not increase the rate or even reduce the rate for the rest of the year? Give something back to the community in a time of need?
Better luck nailing jello to a tree.
Hello. Let’s look at facts.
#1 Fact. CUC has a MONOPOLY on this island, licensed and sanctioned, by the GOVERNMENT.
#2 Fact. CUC has a “publicly” traded company that has GUARANTEED its investors a profit on their investment.
#3 Fact. Since the start of the COVID19 several large bussiness complexes and hotels, who CUC supplies power to, have shutdown.
#4 Fact. A large number of persons, who normally reside on island have left.
So knowing all these facts, one can understand why bills have gone up. CUC needs to maintain a certain percentage of investment return to its investors because it is GUARANTEED. With the loss of power consumption due to COVID19, CUC needs to still collect the same amount to in order not to breach their GUARANTEED return.
So what you think will happen. An increase to those who are still consuming power from the grid will keep the status quo and ensure the GUARANTEED rate is returned.
Duhhhhhhhhhhh. No surprise here folks.
It’s a MONOPOLY allowed by our elected officials……
What nonsense.
Nonsense you say.
Okay then, one easy way to prove it
Provide one shred of evidence that the four “FACTS” as stated are false.
Just one piece of evidence. Otherwise your a dope head……
Fuel prices for wholesale fuel has dropped to the bottom, been going down since January and before due to the rift with Russia. That’s at least 5 months into it.
But here we still paying top dollar. Where you think those savings are going to numb nuts..
Nonsense you say…..Hum I got a Diamond Mine in East End to sell you for 100 million CI. Bet you’d buy it too.
9.41am… i agree and they have exploited us Caymanians and have robbed us blind and it is a shame that our Government have turned a blind eye. Time longer than rope and God is in charge. It’s shameful and disgraceful.
Drivel. Google world electricity prices and compare to your bill.
ACCOUNTABILITY
– Independent Formal Review of CUC Charging Structure
– Is there Summer-Time loading or adjustment based on assumed consumption – this would explain why our bills go up when our usage is the same.
– Fuel Surcharge? Why?
COMPETITION LOWERS PRICES & RAISES STANDARDS
Make this your mantra. Stand up for your rights!
You could always look at your bill and compare it to last months? It’s not difficult to see if the rate has changed.
Accountability in the private sector! Hahha
After Hurricane Ivan, CIG had an opportunity to assume ownership of all non-generation aspects of power delivery, including the non-margined lease-back of all-new upgraded municipal transmission infrastructure, burying it properly. Instead they carried on with CUC putting up poles, stringing replacement cabling, and retaining all facets of power delivery, including their parasitic profit margins over all aspects of it. Short-sighted or deliberate? Anyway, here we are.
Lodge?
Everyone always complains about cuc prices but the all in cost for power here is half that of some comparable islands like USVI, the same as Hawaii with a population of over a million, it’s even less than Germany! Ok sure it’s more expensive than main land US. It’s not popular but imo cuc does a great job for a reasonable price which makes it one of the better companies here! And no I’m not an employee or shareholder. If you want to complain about rip off utility bills for a garbage service start with the internet and cell phone providers!
We also pay an all in rate including fuel surcharges etc.. the same as Ireland, Japan and most of the eastern Caribbean a couple of cents more than the whole of the rest of europe and 30% less than Bermuda.
We live in cayman not none of those you named
They are comparing the price to those places, what do you not understand?
Thinking is hard work.
The difference, which I’m sure you know, is that the Governments of those places add taxes to the bills in order to ‘persuade’ the population to use less energy so that they can meet their carbon emissions whilst allowing businesses to continue to flourish. The whole game is about money, it’s just the players change. In our case the Government isn’t the winner, nor the population, just the energy supplier, and their shareholders.
CNS – I think your ‘thumbs up/thumbs down’ tally is not working properly. I just clicked a thumbs up on one post (which had zero up and down hits) and the figure 5 suddenly popped up – When I reopened the page later, there were zero hits either up or down again.
No big thing, just thought you should know…
CNS: I think I can explain the first thing – when you click it resets the tally so if four other people had voted since the page was refreshed they would all show up at once. The second, just guessing, maybe your browser brought you to a cached version. What happened when you refreshed? Sorry, it’s not a perfect system, but I haven’t found anything better.
It was back at zero … like I say – no big thing really – they’re only opinions just that the consensus could be ‘skewed’ if the system wasn’t working properly. thanks for looking anyway
Hi CNS, just checked again, you are spot on ! This time, 3 popped up but when I refreshed the page, there was zero-then when I cleared the cache, my one hit showed.
When I saw my bill, I thought it was a scam and ‘junked’ it – 50% increase – no way ! until I looked at my online account and nearly dropped. Yes, I’m working from home but even when I am normally out at work, my wife is home – so the consumption is virtually the same… You would think CUC would have consideration given the circumstances and give us a break (even where consumption may be a little greater than normal) instead of rubbing their hands together whilst collecting the extra cash which people are not earning.
CUC is a business, not a charity. Is hurleys giving you a break? is Kirks?
There is a lot of free market competition between the three supermarkets here. We all know which one has the lowest prices or the best salad bar. CUC has no competition or oversight so they can be as parasitic as they can get away with.
…..says a CUC Employee or shareholder !
1 bedroom apartment, average bill between 140-180 in summer over the years. Last month 314
Compare the kwh.
Why does CUC even exist here anymore? Burning diesel fuel to generate energy is old, dirty, antiquated technology that poisons the air and kills the planet, just so some old men can make more money.
We should be doing this….. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amager_Bakke
The Cayman Islands Government had initially owned shares in CUC, but because of myopic greedy political elites in the 1970s, these shares were sold.
I’m wondering how money CUC has made of their oil “hedge” now that the price of oil is near an all time low?
If the oil price were at an all time high, you’d be happy. Hedging is exactly that, trying to mitigate future impact.
If we all got 20%+ higher bills this month, I dread to think what the supermarkets got billed!!! They will need to increase pricing to cover their added costs too so there goes basic food pricing again….dominoed into restaurant prices and back to us! When is this going to get controlled? Is government just working towards an all millionaire, Dubai level population?
The supermarkets are killing it. Raking in the $$$
Yes they are. It’s practically been official policy from before McKeeva said we must embrace wealth or reap poverty. Not working out though…
My electricity bill went down despite us being home. I had my windows open, we had wonderful breezy days in April and cool nights. I washed less clothes.
Remember that your AC registers the heat you give off and runs accordingly. More people at home = more heat = more usage. Did you use your TV much more? Lights? Oven? Dryer? Think about it instead of complaining.
The reason people come here is to complain. If they wanted enlightenment or education they would pay attention while JonJon is speaking.
SWFL: 2bd condo, 1100 sq.ft: $56/mo 👍😆
Nuclear power. Where shall we put the reactor?
Careful what you wish for people. Next they’ll be slapping a COVID19 Surcharge on our bills for the next 2+ years to recoup their losses. And OfReg will let them do it too!
Doing age discrimination are you? They didn’t help me oh young one! How have seniors not been affected oh wise one?
Your wife’s laptop useage costs more than the laptop!
Cheers!
Smash the monolith!
Render CUC asunder and separate generation from distribution.
Bring competition for each part – generation and distribution.
Impose net metering – none of this BS – “we’ll allow you to rent us your roof to generate electricity that we will later sell back to you at inflated prices, which will grow even more inflated over 20 years (based upon inflation!).
Never forget, we were forced to pay to rebuild CUC’s distribution network for years after Ivan – the original “surcharge”! CUC should be insuring that risk (and yes, they can ….) or funding for it…. but no, that would reduce their profits and dividends.
CIG doing 25 years deals with CUC – fantasies of totalitarian regimes.
Remember the costs of phone bills, before there was competition?
Smash the monolith!
Your points about paying for infrastructure and the policy on renewables are fair. It has been scandalous that an Island totally dependant on imported fossil fuel has such absurd rules on renewables, add to the picture, the fact that the Island is more blessed than most with the ability to produce energy from wind or sun, then you have to wonder at the continued Government support for CUC!
Imagine (and incidentally, imagination has never been an affliction of the LA), wind farms in the centre of the East part of the Island, largely out of sight and hearing, PV panels on every roof, and in farms around the base of the wind turbines, add a Tesla style battery bank and the Island has renewables suitable for its every need. Add a SMALL oil powered generator for the down time and you are green and sustainable. NOT cheap, it is true, but is CUC?
SOLAR POWER FOR EVERYONE NOW.
Yup as soon as I can get out of lockdown I’ll be calling… Get ready
Net Metering- nothing else!
It really only works with net metering
or
with large and expensive (and with an unproven lifespan) “Tesla” type home batteries.
What CUC offer (CORE) is really an insult to people’s intelligence.
Net metering!
I am 69 years old and live alone. My husband passed away two years ago. It’s just me at home nothing changed the entire month for me. I am not one to go out except for the grocery store once a week. I can’t figure out why my bill that is normally about $175 is now Almost $280, $279.14 to be exact. I cannot afford it on the little bit of savings I have left..
It’s the air conditioning. You don’t have to do anything different. The amount of heat outside will make your air conditioning work harder to cool your place. You may have the thermostat set to the exact same temperature but as the heat rises outside so does the heat inside. Then your air conditioning has to work harder to keep that temperature you set it at. You can set your temperature at 80 throughout the year but during the cooler months your air conditioning won’t work as hard. It will be on but it doesn’t stay on as long or work as hard as it would during the summer months because outside is cooler. Now if you don’t have air conditioning then you may have something else that is sucking the power.
Have you checked how old your fridge is? The newer ones consume much less electricity.
CUC have a monopoly on electricity and are taking a hit on profits as the commercial sector is not operating right now. This hit will be passed onto their existing customers with some insulting BS about what you should do to reduce your bills. There is nothing you can do. In the UK they have the ‘big six’ companies so you are fooled into thinking you have options and can switch provider, which you can. They simply take it in turns to shaft the consumer and even conspire together to create novel ideas to squeeze the end user. I know this from professional experience. CUC don’t even have to go through this facade. Who are you going to switch to? If you want to save money on electricity bills during lockdown then sit in the dark in 30 degrees heat and try not to cook anything, or wash your clothes. If you’re lucky your bill will be under $200. Ours jumped from $180 to $350 this month.
Our bill went up $200 this month from last in a 1400 sq ft apartment and exactly the same usage as last. Total BS.
What is BS is you don’t account for the fact that your air conditioning is working harder during the hotter months to keep your place as cool as it would during the cooler months. The temp may be set the same all year but it works twice as hard to keep that same temperature when it is so hot outside. Like honestly how dumb are you people??? Now if you are looking at your bill and you see the exact same kilowatt hours used as last month but the bill is higher then I could understand your anger.
@8.45am ‘… You people’ are not as dumb you trying to explain what ‘you people’ already know! Perhaps people like you should wake up! Stay safe.
First “While the noted increase in residential consumption is bound to offset some of the commercial decline, the closure of all the hotels and the restaurants will take its toll on profits.”
With CUC having guaranteed profits guess who the commercial decline losses will be passed onto? CUC has to generate same power for non use. Same overhead but less revenue so dont think these losses are going to simply be absorbed in any way by CUC.
Secondly, when CUC assumed to calibrate the smart readers to push usage up 20+% and simply justify it by saying it was “due to added consumption from people being home all day”, they forgot that some people ALWAYS worked from home and havent changed any part of their everyday consumption to understand how they are suddenly using 300kwh more than usual.
In our case, with no second wardrobe of work clothes we are doing HALF the amount of laundry. Weve always had gas cooking. We turned off the pool equipment due to non service for 5 weeks. And with no rain water in our cistern since March, we havent used our cistern pump. All things that should have REDUCED consumption.
So please CUC, tell us the old excuse of how our bill is due to increased kwh usage. And I’m still waiting for an explanation of how our “smart” meter logged kwh usage during 2 months of DISCONNECTION….
‘’ CUC has to generate same power for non use. Same overhead…”
Seriously? LOL. Just think of all that electricity all piling up in the wires!!! 55 likes you’ve got to be kidding me. Science teachers everywhere are hanging their heads in shame.
Look up the law dumba$$. They have to provide 100% power for everyone that has a permitted structure whether its consuming the power or not. Its people like you who just havent figured out why every time they increase the CORE program, the renewable fee goes up and the losses in revenue require an increase in fees to everyone which govt approves to avoid subsidizing them per contract. Wow, cant believe people still clueless on this.
Hahahaha the law? Seriously? Dear god. Where do you imagine all the unused electrical energy is going? SMH
Oh dear. Cuc produces to demand, there’s no way to store your imaginary excess.
Oh 3:30. Aggressive and laughably wrong. What a winning combination.
You are the one who should be hanging your head in shame!
You think CUC only generates enough power based on consumption the month before? Yeah, lets minus out everyone disconnected or generating solar and only generate for whoever’s left and not so they can turn on everything in their home per building code requirements, just some of their stuff…..ohhh and then when people are reconnected or their solar goes down, say “oops, we dont have enough, dont know where we gonna suddenly make the extra”. The ignorance is disturbing.
Power supply is generated on a near-instantaneous basis to meet demand. If demand increases, frequency starts to drop and generators are ramped up to keep it aligned to 60Hz. If demand decreases relative to supply, frequency would increase so generators are ramped down. As demand increases toward the daily peak, more generators may be brought online as needed. As solar comes online and drops out depending on the time of day or cloud cover, that would also impact the apparent demand on the system, influencing how the generation is dispatched. Hope that helps clear things up!
Hahaha OMG get a child with a gcse in science to explain it to you. OBVIOUSLY CUC have to have the CAPACITY to supply everyone but they ARE NOT producing power that isn’t getting used. Jeez. LOL. This place!
There is no Public Utilities Commission here to keep watch over utilities so the public must depend on Govt oversight. We all know how THAT’S been working. CUC should be required to bill customers for actual kilowatts used. The metering should reflect consumption. Only when CUC is forced to disclose their billing practices will there be any consumer protection. Right now they celebrate Pirate’s Week 52 weeks a year.
What exactly do you think you are being billed for, if not actual consumption?
Are you for real? Read your bill. Wow.
Cayman Islands Govt might not own CUC stock but they very likely have a policy /agreement with CUC to receive a % of the dividend that CUC pays to shareholders. Aside from Duty revenue and fees from work permits (very high for financial sector expats) Cayman Govt needs additional revenue to pay for Pensions and Civil Servant salaries. With the Premier choosing to crash the economy and defer work permit fees for example, Govt will take every opportunity to claw back $$ any way they can. $3000 fine for a retiree walking their dog on the beach? Heavy fine for lone jogger out running at 4:45 am instead of 5:00 am? The public outrage over the Mafia-like extortion from fines should be even more than the justifiable anger at CUC.
Did CUC not say that bills would go down because of oil prices? Even if they paid the cost before prices fell still does not explain why my bill went up last month with no extra useage?
Compare your kWh consumed to previous months.
CUC’s attitude does not help its poor image … nor does the lack of commitment to the respect of past agreements and programs. Who can trust a company which is constantly doing all it can to charge customers ? IMHO opinion CUC is going to continue its manipulations until we reach the level of ridicule that Bermuda is enjoying with 41cents per KW/h. Their latest newletter and recommendation is nothing short of ludicrous , how can even make a recommendation to circulate air throughout your house with present mosquito presence is just beyond comprehension. Their PR is nothing short of an insult to all people present on this island.
No matter what I do my bills don’t get any lower. I’ve installed the high 21 SEER rating A/C, variable speed pool pump, instant water heaters, LED lights and solar window tinting and expanding foam roof installation and after all this my bills went down like 10-15%.
In fact I have turned off the A/C in Jan/Feb and my bill is almost the same! I’ve gone away for two months in the summer and my bill went down like $100.
I honestly think they just make up the amount based on what they think it should be.
My April bill was 40% higher than March – was it that much hotter??
I would like to get a CUC bill under $500 rather than almost to $1,000.
Cost of living in Cayman is off the charts!!! In the UK I can heat / hot water for my 4 bedroom home for around KYD$260 per quarter – Yep, that for 3 months!!!
Uk roughly US$0.22/kWh cayman US$0.29/kWh. You just use a lot more here and your house sounds very inefficient.
Then move back… air – bridge coming up soon.
How on earth you chewing through 3500kWh/month? Is your house 12,000sqft?
Every person who lives here…. lifelong Caymanians, Status holders who’ve been here for 30 years and all work permit holders know about the high cost of living here. Cayman is always listed as one of the most expensive vacation destinations. Some months ago Cayman was listed as THE most expensive destination in the world.
So how is it fair that private sector workers can access their pension acct for financial help during this period when retirees cannot? The $1200 month stipend allowed to retirees is not enough. It’s very discriminatory if not illegal to prohibit those retirees who have private sector pensions from using some pension funds at this time. The current CUC billing outrage is an example of this discrimination.
Same old excuse as as gas prices at the pumps. Same old situation where the lag only applies to wholesale price decreases but not to increases.Same old complete lack of engagement with the local oil companies from Ofreg.
Have not seen mine yet but it had increased last month and was surprised..Not working from home, AC not been on since last year, open windows and usual fans, less use of washer and dryer, cooker hardly used as usual and less use of lights cos sleep more … What other excuses for increase?
C U C, only allowed to make 11 – 12 % profit, wouldn’t that be great if the Gas stations and stores could only make that amount profit.
My CUC bill wasn’t too bad, but that’s because I used beer to cool down instead of a/c.
Unless you buy 345 in bulk it would be cheaper to run your AC. And since beer makes you leak more, you’re also wasting more water.
…and cost of liver failure.
Who says I’m using a toilet?
@7.35pm LOL Cheers!
Good job CUC. Stable electricity no blackouts during this crisis. We look forward to the reduced fuel charge and the battery backup solutions as we anticipate an extremely active hurricane season.
My bill increased by CI$131 between last month and this month with NO extra utility usage. I’ve heard other family and friends say the same. I’ve been retired since 2014 so there’s no “working from home” reason. Same AC usage, same lights, same freezer,fridge and water heater (with timer). Nothing changed on my end.
Does CUC automatically implement an “expected” summer use factor?
Yep. And the smart meters can be programmed to round up/off kwh. They already decided to program the meters to read about 20% more usage based on the whole “everybodys working from home and got their kids home all day” justification. Along with the typical its getting hotter in summer excuse. According to my highest summer usage last year August per this predictable CUC response, it must be about 105F outside right now!! I believe residential is currently filling in the anticipated revenue loss from all closed hotels and offices who are not using their already generated 100% kwh right now.
There should be 2 utility companies on island. CUC prices would collapse if competition. Disgraceful monopoly
This 1000%. Wannabe MLAs that’s a platform you ought to be running on. That, net metering, and duty waivers for solar panels and electric cars. Let’s get rid of these price gouging assholes.
7:09 pm, yes like the gasoline suppliers eh ?
Ocean Thermal Energy has the potential to reduce or make completely redundant CUC’s fossil fuel generators but the establishment (Big CUC shareholders) don’t want it to happen. The OfReg puppets, or should I say muppets, keep licking CUC shoes. Meanwhile CIG, CUC and our diesel suppliers rake in the profits rain or shine and the ordinary end users get fleeced.
Hey Wendy, what’s the status of the OTE’s proposal with OfReg? Something to look into.
12,000 people have left the island.. so they have to split their loss with the rest of us.
12,000? Really?
Yes, and a lot more are going to leave this police state when they can leave
Nah, I wish. If we could be so lucky
One of the fundamental problems that we have in Cayman is the fact that the government is not truly committed to energy independence at the consumer level. The main reason for this is the fact that the government earns more money when we consume more of the electricity provided by CUC.
The government does provide some concessions for renewable energy equipment, however, those concessions are largely designed to benefit the companies that are engaged in selling grid-tied solar power solutions. To be truly helpful the government would need to extend the concessions to deep cycle batteries and battery storage solutions so that it will be financially feasible for consumers to invest in the types of solutions that will promote energy independence and disaster preparedness along with reducing their CUC bills.
They had to pay for those groceries they bought last week somehow… maybe they should look at reducing everyone’s bills instead of just helping seniors who are the least financially affected by this pandemic!
@6.58pm Not all seniors received groceries, bill increased from last month, have not received any help nor offered any help how can you financially affect 1,000 per month pension? Don’t talk thru ur ass!
6.58pm They probably spent well under $5000 helping out a few seniors in their publicity stunt. Florida Power and Light knocked 20% off everybody’s bill last month, statewide, that’s real help.
Per FPL “The Florida Public Service Commission has unanimously approved our plan to fast-track fuel savings through a one-time, approximately 25% bill credit in May for residential customers, rather than the standard approach of spreading these savings over the remainder of the year. Business customers will also see a significant one-time bill credit. ”
These were savings going to the customer anyway, just being aggregated into the most recent bill rather than throughout the year. Now future bills won’t have the credit applied as used to be the case. Certainly helpful, but very different structure in place to be able to do that.
I’m still working and my wife works from home now, she doesn’t use the AC at all through the day and I turn it on as usual when I get home around 530 pm, our bill has gone up 130 ci for absolutely no reason at all, total exploitation and no one will do a damn thing about it,
Well they had to pay for those groceries they bought last week somehow … maybe they should look at giving everyone a break on their bill instead of just helping seniors who really haven’t been financially affected by this pandemic the way the younger population has!
I have my thermostat at 80, and my bill is pretty much the same as always. Yes, I would like it to be cooler, but you know we are not going to see any reduction in rates from the historically low fuel prices for months, if ever.
My thermostat is also at 80 (all the time not just WFH) but my bill went up by $120.
Have you noticed how hot its been lately. The hotter it is the more quickly your AC reaches 80 and has to turn back on. I too keep mine at 80 but have clearly noticed the AC powering on much more because of the heat.
It’s not hotter than last July/Aug/Sept. I wonder if they actually read my metre as the usage is way higher. No I haven’t checked it. I’m unable to get to it & not allowed to invite anyone into my yard. Oh well. If they read it next month the bill should drop if I’m right. Fingers crossed.
Over the many years that I have been here, CUC has not done a damned thing to help the people.
They are totally beholden to their investors, and the senior management, Hew included, make shedloads of money for reaching certain targets. If Walmart, Fosters, Hurleys, etc, I can understand that. But CUC, you are a friggin’ monopoly. I hope your kids know what kind of people you are and become philanthropists with the filthy lucre that you leave them.
The same applies to the gouging wombats on the Brac.
So if fuel will be cheaper come June/July because they’re buying it now we still won’t see any reduction? Even though will still be at home using the same amount as we just used when costs are high? That doesn’t make sense Alden! Please stop lining your pocket and care about your freaking people.
For gods sake. The kWh price of electricity WILL fall in the next 2 months BUT if you USE MORE your bills won’t decrease. If you use the same your bill will go down, if you a lot more it might even go up. Most people use more as it gets hotter because their a/c has to work harder. Why is this so hard to understand?
Alden is the one imprisoning the people in their homes. He should be the one subsidizing the resultant consequences
I haven’t touched my thermostat WFH. My bill is up 68% from last month. WTF.
Having watched Alden today for the first time, I’m certain the message is for us to not be so selfish. Rather than complain about bills we need to look at the bigger picture. We’re saving lives, especially those of the elderly from a disease that is ravishing our people to the point it’s deemed necessary to set up a field hospital. He hasn’t figured out that persons often use a thing called money, that they get from a thing called work, to pay for their elderly parents upkeep. It’s okay for mamma to die from cancer, as long as she doesn’t have Covid-19.
People need to learn to read their own electric meter. They can then track their daily usage.
Get your own separate metering device then…an independant load logger unless you actually believe your smart meter is showing you true consumption.
I’ve done enough commercial renovation projects requiring load logging to calculate equipment upgrades to see the disparity between CUCs metered usage and ACTUAL usage. You’d $€!T your pants if you see what I’ve seen!
But what good would it do? Tell them they are a scam so they can say “yeah, so what”?
Customers can track their daily usage, but the cost will still increase, no matter if you try to save and use less. That’s just the way it is.
CUC NEED COMPETITION!!
One wonders why CUC buys fuel any more than a month in advance.
It’s called hedgeing
‘Hedging’.
Have you any clue as to the amount of fuel CUC requires to keep everybody’s lights on and computers humming? You can’t just go down to the gas station and fill up a jerry can on the spur of the moment. What if fuel supplies had been disrupted during the pandemic, did you think of that? Didn’t you stockpile toilet paper and groceries? Isn’t your freezer full .. why??
You can buy a tankerload tomorrow for delivery in a week. It is easy to trade diesel and it does no good to get hysterical about imaginary shortages. Pandemics cause the opposite of fuel shortages so no, I didn’t worry about that. If CUC is hedging, it does not appear they know how to do it.
A comment on another thought provoking article …
The Cayman Islands just entered a very dark period of economic and emotional hardship. How long this period will last is anyone’s guess.
It has never been more important to all in these beautiful Islands that prices are fair. Fair electricity prices. Fair real estate commissions. Fair fuel prices. Fair health service prices. Fair internet, tv and phone prices. Fair insurance prices. Fair food prices. Fair prices for businesses and consumers.
Fair prices will go some way to easing the hardships. Equally, fair prices will make the Cayman Islands more attractive to foreign direct investment. High costs of living and of doing business are an important factor when considering in which country to invest. I can recall at least one multinational group that decided not to base its regional headquarters in the Cayman Islands due to its very high costs of living.
Cayman has no system whatsoever to ensure many prices are fair. For whatever reason – whether priorities, resources, protectionism, lobbying, delays or something else – this is plainly wrong. Unlike most other developed countries,
there are no competition rules applicable to all sectors in the Cayman Islands. This situation is exceptional: our country sticks out like a sore thumb.
Now more than ever is the time for the Government of the Cayman Islands to correct this situation. To make it right. But how? The Government should be encouraged to broaden without delay the scope of OfReg’s remit to include, at the very least, the health sector, the insurance sector, the real estate brokerage sector and the groceries sector in the Cayman Islands.
Yes, this is but a first step. But it would be a giant step forward to ensuring fair prices for consumers and businesses in the Cayman Islands. At a time when they most need it.
God help us—no.
Can we ask CUC why we’re also receiving negative interest on our deposits with them?
Because negative means it’s a credit, not a charge.
Debit interest they are earning on the 950 deposit they have of mine increases my monthly bill.
Bullshit. My central air and washer did not work all the month of April. My no good landlords did not even bother to fix them. My bill was $105.00 extra. I moved!
How were they supposed to fix them in lock down?
Simple math? When I’m at work, my employer pays for the a/c. If I go out somewhere, either the venue provides the a/c or I enjoy the outdoor climate. But when I have to stay shut in at home because of the government lockdown the a/c goes on my CUC bill.
Thats you. Other people always worked from home and some hardly left their house (ok just me as im a hermit).
So no lifestyle change WHATSOEVER during Covid yet seeing 20% increase on consumption? Somethings not adding up…but the smart meter is definitely doing some adding!
It hasn’t even been hot yet…. Why u have AC on? No windows n fans n feel the wonderful air not by AC. LOL Let the outdoor climate in! Simple Math!
Isnt even hot? Anything over 79F internally starts causing humidity and mold. Sorry but theres a line before you start endangering your investment/house and your health. Plus I live near enough to a highway to not want to listen to 60mph cars, drag racing and bike games at 2am every night.
@6.33am should have read ‘open’ windows LOL guess you never open windows in your car either and sit in AC all day. Sounds as though you put yourself in ‘lockdown’ some time ago. Presume you chose where to live.
CUC is the most expensive power supplier in the world and they are probably 20 years behind compared to some of the other semi developed countries…
Simply not true. Not even close. Google it.