Rate hike plugs CUC costs hole
(CNS): Despite having 762 more customers in the first quarter of 2021 compared to first three months of last year, CUC’s earnings fell because of higher depreciation, as well as general and administration costs, the company said Thursday in a release outlining its latest financial results. But the drop in profits for the monopoly power provider was offset by the recent 6.6% base rate hike imposed on customers, leaving the company with $3.3 million in net earnings. During this quarter 3.9% of the power used in Grand Cayman was from renewables. Although this is well short of the government’s target of 70% of electricity coming from green sources by 2037, it is the most ever generated from a source other than diesel.
The renewable power was generated through a combination of the 5MW solar farm in Bodden Town and the 8.2MW of solar and wind installed on customers’ premises. CUC President and CEO Richard Hew said there is another 3.4MW of greener sources under development on customers’ sites. “During the most recent billing month these existing systems generated 3.9% of the energy consumed on Grand Cayman,” he said.
CUC has also proposed a solar plus battery storage project to OfReg that would provide 20MW of renewable energy capacity onto the grid during the day and be capable of serving peak loads at night.
“The cost of energy from this project would be significantly less than rooftop solar costs and current fuel factor rates and would lead to savings for customers. The project would provide 11% of Grand Cayman’s energy needs while reducing CO2 impacts of the sector by a corresponding amount,” Hew added.
The president said that during this reporting period CUC completed the re-registration of its environmental management system to the ISO 14001 standard. It has also proposed projects to OfReg to relocate two of the main transmission lines from overhead infrastructure to underground ducting. The primary benefits of these projects would be to add resilience to critical infrastructure that serves the main business and tourism sectors of Grand Cayman.
“The Company is committed to the advancement of renewable energy and continued its discussions with the Utility Regulation and Competition Office to pursue a number of initiatives under the 2017 Integrated Resource Plan,” the president stated.
CUC also said there were no lost-time injuries or significant recordable safety incidents during the quarter, when service provision was also at 99.97%.
See the full report here.
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Category: Business, Energy, Science & Nature, utilities
Paying $600 a month for electricity.
*consuming enough electricity to cost $600 a month.
Why is there a 40percent fuel cost increase from March to April? Any one please inform
I’m ok with the current state of affairs so long as it doesn’t affect my dividends.
Just in time for summer as usual, story changes every year but the price hike is guaranteed that’s for sure.
M-m-m-m-m… Do you think they could be lying?
Yes!
Bill up yet again this month, daylight robbery as usual
Mine is 50% less than last April. Changed out the entire old a.c system. Will take me a couple of years to recoup that expense but maybe you’ve got an old inefficient system?
Depreciation… really… that’s a non-cash charge. Strip that out to get EBITDA and you’ll probably learn it’s nothing more than another money grab. It’s about time this market opened up!
6/5 @ 2:10pm – my increase this month was just under 10%. I’ve had contractors 5 days a week for the past 3 weeks using extra electricity, so no big surprise.
It’s interesting to say the least that an application for a utility scale solar farm, presumably with all land and costs to do so already arranged, has made its way for approval despite ‘by law’ utility scale generation having to be ‘competitively’ procured and OfReg has never issued an RFP for any utility scale solar projects.
If no tender has ever gone out why is there a full blown proposal submitted for approval? 🤔
Also the National Energy Policy calls for BOTH rooftop solar and utility scale solar (like every renewables adopting country does); so certain peoples focus on only one side is against the country’s goal and objectives while also being purely self interest.
The unspoken part here is that utility scale solar provides plentiful jobs only on a temporary basis during construction whereas rooftop solar provides sustainable long term jobs and careers and provides greater economic impacts.
Add to the fact that rooftop solar provides millions more in net financial benefits to the country ‘than it costs’ and Caymanians have the right to use solar on their homes… one can see most of this one side advocacy for what it really is.
Trading a fossil fuel monopoly for a renewables monopoly, killing off the utility’s competition and ensuring Cayman remain firmly with one choice when it comes to energy. Sadly we have a regulator in OfReg who buys into this line of thinking and not following the National Energy Policy.
Let’s hope this new government takes this more seriously than those of the past and we see less a apathy towards real progress of the NEP.
Previous posts – CUC is against solar! We will never achieve NEP targets.
Current post – how dare CUC propose to increase solar power toward the NEP targets!
Summary – the posts of righteous indignation are actually not about the solar or benefit to the community.
Actually I never said CUC is against solar. That’s you’re first mistake.
Your second mistake is that you didn’t actually point out where anything I said was factually incorrect.
Indeed CUC are 100% for renewables; they’d just prefer to own and monopolize it and hence if you understand that you’d see the connection in supporting (utility) scale RE but not in manner that simply exchanges a fossil fuel monopoly for a renewables monopoly.
Yes there are people in OfReg that for their own reasons would like to see that happen quick and in the short term, as it is a helpful means to an end for years of non performance on their part; and certainly that benefits the utility and they know it and thus encourage it.
However some of us intend to see the NEP implemented the way it was intended and the vision wasn’t to create a renewable monopoly; indeed the vision of the democratization of energy for the benefit of the country.
In that scenario CUC can and should win as well; there shouldn’t be able losers (short of fossil fuel suppliers); but as long as CUC has the opportunity and hope of creating a ‘monopoly on clean energy’ I suspect that shared vision, which includes distributed energy which suddenly is the enemy, will continue to be resisted.
Hope that helps.
Ps- it’s always telling when persons post the same things over and over but are always afraid to leave their name. 😉
No hard feelings, I know who it is and get it. Just making another observation snd food for thought, I’m always happy to debate these issues if you’d like to do so publicly and the people can decide. Let me know.
James
We are still locked into fossil fuels. If pleasing their shareholders is the priority the renewables target will come and be gone like Vision 2008. The current policy target is a farce, while the light at the end of the fossil fuel tunnel is within reach the existence of OfReg negates it.
The Lodge is a cancer on these islands. I really functions like Cayman’s male-dominated deep state. Elections are rendered almost pointless because they real power in Cayman remains in the Lodge no matter who wins politically.
6.6%? Tell that to my light bill which saw a 60% increase this month. Been working from home for well over a year and there have been no changes.
Working from home, being in the house where previously you were out and about does contribute to your home energy and water usage you know. I’m not supporting CUC however you fail to realise if you weren’t home your office or your employer would be offsetting your energy bill. Raise your home thermostat like you’re not working from home and your CUC bill should return to normal.
Did you miss the part where I said I’ve been working from home for well over a year? The increase happened this month. Not over the whole year since I’ve been working from home.
You missed the point where the poster said they have been at home for over a year with no changes and now it’s had a massive increase.
Mine is about 25% more than last month despite nothing changing. Same thermostat setting, still working from home, same amount of people and lightbulbs in the house.
We need solar to not be regulated by a monopoly corporation.
To those thumbs downing, did you see my light bill this month or any months prior? Didn’t think so. I don’t have children to blame for it either.