CUC customers cut use but growth fuels profits
(CNS): With over 900 more new customers, as Grand Cayman’s population continues to grow, Caribbean Utilities Company continued to generate profits in the last quarter, even as people begin to reduce their electricity consumption. According to the power provider’s latest unaudited accounts for the three months ended 30 September, the period reflected a 3% growth in customers, so even with lower average consumption in the face of high fuel prices, CUC’s net earnings were still $300,000 more than this time last year.
CUC said that as global fuel prices continued to rise in the third quarter, power generation expenses increased by 70% on costs in 2021, largely as a result of a 75% increase in the average fuel price per imperial gallon over the summer. The average Fuel Cost Charge rate billed to consumers for Q3 2022 was $0.29 per kWh, compared to $0.17 in 2021. Although CUC passes on all the fuel costs to its customers, the government subsidy helped reduce the overall bills that people had to pay.
The government has now expanded that subsidy and will be continuing to cap rates until the end of the year.
Despite efforts by residential customers to cut fuel consumption, the growing number of customers saw CUC experience a new system peak load record of 113.573 megawatts. But the company said that its network remained reliable and safe and that Tropical Storm Ian caused only minimal physical damage.
With a new deal for battery storage that will help CUC increase the use of renewables, President and CEO Richard Hew said the company was keen to press on with solar projects.
“The state of the current global fuel markets emphasizes the need and our desire to advance activities under the Integrated Resource Plan as quickly as possible, particularly utility-scale solar projects, to transition to more sustainable energy solutions that bring price stability and reduce carbon emissions,” he said.
“Tropical Storm Ian also reminds us of the importance of building resilient systems such as our indoor substations to adapt to more frequent storms brought by climate change.”
The Integrated Resource Plan is CUC’s own proposal for getting Cayman to its target of using 70% renewable energy within the next 15 years. But the government has not yet set out the details of its plan to ensure public investment in future renewable projects.
See full press release below:
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How can October be the highest usage does that make sense to anyone or is it just me?
I’m tired of following planning laws and other laws that restrict my ability to be self sufficient and place it behind approvals of board members who have special interests and companies who’s mission is to make as much money as possible for shareholders.
I’m tired of complaining about things to a government and a people who just love complaining for the sake of it. I urge everyone else to take the same energy they would when typing a complaint here about “Someone should do something”, instead use it to actually do something.
To hell with companies like CUC and those in the Supermarket mafia, just ignore them and do your own thing. Nothing hurts worst than when you do something for yourself and don’t give money to them.
Going to find ways to just get my own power off grid. Completely disconnect and have my own power supply via a combination of solar and generator. Tons of articles and videos of people who built their own solar array, which are completely off-grid, and powered their homes. Tons about permaculture and small area gardening. Think its time to try those out. Wonder how quick the members of all the various boards will start asking government to force me have to pull out my wallet for things I can do myself?
It amazes me that CuC has not raised the rates on the CORE program. Why should CuC be able to buy our solar generated power at 0.175 c/kWh and then sell it back to us at 0.35c/kWh and blame the high cost of fuel 👀
Zero benefit to us investing to Solar right now- CuC’s dream come true
CUC should;
1) drop the core program and pay all solar producers the current rate less a spread to compensate them for use of the grid/being the provider of last resort/etc.
2) allow net metering. you produce it you use and just buy what you need. great post hurricane if power goes out.
3) remove the limit on the amount you can produce to encourage increased take up. energy storage solutions are improving all the time (batteries, hydrogen cells, gravity batteries) so by the time it’s necessary to store energy to meet grid demand solutions are available.
How does a very expensive and hard to maintain/uninsurable distribution network get paid for in your model? How do you get power at night?
You missed this tidbit, “batteries, hydrogen cells, gravity batteries.”
That’s not very nice, if clowns like that could read they’d be very upset with you.
Compressed air storage, flywheels, thermal storage, other buzzwords! Whatever you respond is negated by me alluding to things I read on a Reddit thread!
Why should other consumers pay you $0.35/kWh for your solar when you get a solid payback on the cost of your solar system at $0.175/kWh? Genuinely curious since your investment has no link to the cost of fuel, and it’s ultimately all of us consuming power that pays for your energy produced. All I see is that you get paid more at my expense, so why should I pad your wallet?
For the same reason you pay CUC for electricity. They produce it, so you have to pay.
Right, but why should I pay more for their solar production based on the cost of fuel? They’re not related. I already pay for their solar production, so it makes zero sense to me that the price I pay for that would increase because a different source for electricity production has a price change. When fuel costs were tanked and were like 6-7 cents, I didn’t see a clamour from CORE customers to pay them less for their solar?
When is CAL going to produce some accounts!
So the environmental activists, who 30 years ago, told us to diversify our energy infrastructure and invest in renewables to make ourselves less dependent on one source and more able to withstand shocks of this nature were RIGHT?
Who would’ve thought?
End the monopoly now. Look to Barbados.
oh good lord no
https://www.blpc.com.bb/index.php/billing/estimating-your-bill
If CUC charged the same rates as Barbados Light & Power, my August bill would have been US$270 more. And that includes adding back in the $142.18 that CIG picked up fuel duty subsidy. So I would have paid US$412 more for the same electricity usage in Barbados in August.