CUC blames consumption for higher bills
(CNS): Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC) has said there has been no increase to the base rates on bills that were dispatched this week. Responding to customer concerns that May’s electricity bills are even more painful than usual, Grand Cayman’s power provider said there was only a marginal rise in the fuel rate, but increased consumption has pushed up the cost of most bills.
In a statement, the company explained that all adjustments to its rates are subject to review and approval by OfReg in accordance with licencing requirements and the regulatory regime.
OfReg last approved a 5.8% hike in the base rate in February, which took effect in March, just a few months after the government’s subsidy on domestic bills ended.
According to the CUC website, the fuel factor increased from just over 18.5 cents in April to just over 19 cents last month. “Fuel rates do change each month and CUC does ensure full transparency with such changes,” the company said. Despite this incremental May increase in fuel, the overall increase in the bills was due to increased consumption when compared to April.
“With the summer months upon us, customers are reminded to monitor their consumption and make the necessary adjustments within their home. The heat factor during these months will play a significant role for air conditioning loads,” CUC stated.
The company said it was committed to “delivering affordable and reliable services” and understood the importance of providing transparent and accurate information as officials encouraged customers to verify information about rates with CUC.
“We remain readily available to address any concerns or queries regarding billing, rates or any other utility-related matters, the release stated. “CUC values the trust placed in us by the community and is committed to upholding the highest standards of customer service and transparency. We understand the vital role we play in everyday life, and we will continue to deliver the essential services that keep our community thriving.”
Last month, CUC reported that it had made a profit of $5.2 million in the first quarter of this year after both sales and the number of customers grew.
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Like the water company, no one can successfully challenge CUC irrespective of the situation.
How can someone be on vacation and off island for 3 weeks out of the month, air conditioner off, fans off, no one else living in the house and the consumption for that month is exactly the same as the previous month?
CUC “investigated” and found the meters all to be “working” so they justified the charges and suggested maybe someone was living in the house while the owner was off island without their knowledge.
Seems fishy to me!
CUC rates are expensive in comparison to any US State or European country yes!
But compare it to providers closer to home, not just it’s rates but it’s reliability.
CUC is very high in comparison to any electricity provider worldwide in reliability. We have clean, stable current, very stable provision of electricity and prompt and reliable support when interruptions are rarely experienced.
With CUC we get what we pay for, great service!
Wish I could say the same about CIG!!!
PS. I’m not a shareholder nor an employee of CUC, just a satisfied customer.
You are a millionare or I bet you sell solar or get kickbaxks from CUC relayed business. No honest person on this island can continue to afford the CUC monopoly.
12@11:46pm – ….and C & W (Lime, FLOW) is still crap after competition!
Break the CUC MONOPOLY. Remember C&W before it had competition – huge prices and cr@p service.
Seperate Generation from Distribution
Require NET METERING for residential solar & wind.
CORE = CR@P!
REMEMBER we, the consumers rebuilt the distribution network after IVAN with that ludicrous “surcharge” that went on for years…yet we own NOTHING of it.
NET METERING NOW!!!
That can’t be right. I used the same amount 1120kw in April and May, April bill was 389 CI, May Was 446
Thank OffReg
No you didn’t. That’s just not possible. Look again.
Never thought I would say this but boi I miss Alden
The same Alden who put Joey “Who?” in charge of infrastructure? Same Joey related to Richard Hew, top dog in CUC? That Alden?
Miss me with that BS. Good buddy can go far and stay long, along with his sock puppet tag team partner MoneyMan McTaggart.
You know your CUC bill is out of control When the lights in the Dart tunnels are turned off…
During the day my eyes take a few seconds to adjust to the darkess. This is dangerous when driving. The tunnels needs more light during the day.
Conspiracy theory
We are paying more to cover the new infrastructure they will need for the EW extension and substations for all the planned new building projects along it.
We pay CUC to build the grid, then all rent is from them.
Its like paying a builder to build your new home, and then paying them rent to live in it.
And who is paying for the power to power up the electric vehicles? You know CUC isn’t giving away that energy for free.
Yes, it does sound like the people of the Cayman Islands are being overcharged by some greedy suppliers! Is there anyone in our government that is honest???……. I thought not!
It is important to compare your number of units used, the kwh number on the bill. CUC include a graph of your last 12 months usage so you can easily see that it goes up in the summer and usage is down in the cooler winter months. So you may not have changed the number on the AC thermostat but if the weather is hotter the AC kicks in more, uses more electricity, your number of units used in the month increases and so does the total bill. Even if the rate per kwh is the same.
It’s basic math and primary school education level to understand this stuff. All that money spent on education and still no one can understand the basics of how this works. Shameful.
Wise words from a CUC employee. Pay your bills and shutup.
I am not a CUC employee or a shareholder, but I find it alarming that people choose to ignore the facts, e.g. higher temparatures = higher electricity consumption = higher bills and instead people want to repeat a false narrative because it is more convenient.
I cannot recall the last time I saw the CUC guy reading my meter. The CCTV camera has not picked him up in months. Are they simply guessing what is being used?
OMG are you really that dense? Why not waddle out to your own meter once in a while and check it against your bill.
The meter sends your reading remotely. Check a different frequency on your CCTV and see if you can pick up those radio waves 😂
LOL. It’s not 1990! The meter either uses the powerline or RF to send your usage data back to CUC automatically.
You’re living in the past man. Smart meters, they really don’t have to do that draconian work anymore.
Your best insurance against future rate hikes is to take out a small loan and insulate your home, start with the attic. If done correctly your savings could be 30% which should help offset your CUC bill and facilitate paying back the loan. The latest PR BS sent via email to customers about cutting your power bill does not mention insulation, nor has any previous customer targeted advice campaign material. The biggest factor to consider when insulating is controlling air movement which brings outside humidity into your home. The more air with moisture entering your building the more is costs to cool.
Baloney. CUC has promoted home insulation to customers for years. I have received emails from them stating this several times. My son recently managed to get the roof of his apartment done with the spray foam and the bill difference was immediately obvious.
You must have a vested interest in CUC
Anyone who has traveled abroad and turned off everything but the refrigerator knows all too well that the coming CUC bill will likely be the same as if they were home.
And no one cares, no regulatory agency to protect consumers, just more of the same.
Too many important investors.
Not at all true in my experience. Read your meter, turn off everything except fridge, read your power use on meter (the display switches between energy used (kWh) and current power (kW). It should be zero or something like 300W when the compressor kicks in. If it’s anything different then you either aren’t switching everything off or have a serious problem. Second, take your own meter readings and compare with your bill, very easy to do.
There is also CUC connect where you can see your consumption daily showing when it spikes which you can monitor. People just want to complain this day and age let’s face it. My bill went down in May compared to April. I don’t run the AC just ceiling fans and it has made a big difference.
What does Ofreg do?
It’s a place people get appointed to as a political favor and they don’t do anything except ensure the gas and electric companies maximize their profits.
I would assume they are getting all they can from everyone they can. . . . . . as usual.
That’s a myth, I know I tried it.
Why are ofReg signing off on customer margin hikes? Is widening the profit margin spread for utilities their primary mission or regulating those spreads to protect consumer interests? How many parent company shares do they own? Where are their SIPL disclosures? ACC?
you dont know much about the Lodge do you?
Why is Ofreg in charge of CUC rate hikes? Do our politician-s realise that if CUC goes up – our water, food, cost of living go up? How can Ofreg make these decisions for everyone? Our politician’s should make the call or at least approve CUC rate hikes. CUC gold plates everything and boasts profits on every financial statement. Makes no sense that the only company that is immune for hard times is CUC. Time to wake up Cayman. My Premier we voted for you. Who are these people at Ofreg who have so much control over my cost of living?
It called a monopoly, have you ever played the game?
Yes. Every week at the grocery stores.
between this the latest Butterfield email about mortgages, our home is becoming untenable
Bunch of BS
My usage did not increase yet my bill went up by $120. I do not touch my thermostat. Whose usage is CUC talking about?
Read the total number of kWh on your bill. Leaving the thermostat alone doesn’t do much if it’s hotter outside the ac runs more.
Post the kWh readings from your bill last month and this month. It’s been hotter, your bill will go up keeping your a/c at the same temperature. You won’t though. The people who always claim this every time there’s a CUC article on CNS never do.
It is the fuel cost that change often also the weather.
It’s been seriously hot day and night the last few weeks meaning your AC has to power on more than usual to keep your usual set temperature.
CUC is full of it. No matter what consumers do, we all get shafted. We’re told to do energy audits, buy energy efficient appliances, upgrade to LED bulbs, keep A/C units on timers, upgrade doors and windows for better insulation, install spray foam, blah, blah blah. Nothing works!!
Sick of the monopoly they have over us. We need consumer protection rights!!
Of course it works.
Gee, if only there were a regulatory agency appointed to protect consumer interests…….
FIXED IT FOR YOU
to protect corporate interests.
Something very suspicious happened to CuC bills in May. There is no chance that everybody’s bill went up so much in one month, especially since an entire week of the month was rain/ overcast weather!
I suspect this was CuC cashing in on any lost revenue from the release of the next wave of solar capacity!
C.U.C. – Cayman’s Unmatched Crusaders
C.U.C.-Cough Up Cash
Gee, thanks OffReg for allowing the rate increase just in time for one of the hottest summers in recent history.
No shocker here as it was apparent that May was as hot as the peak of summer and June is too, so we adjusted and ours decreased from April.
Those with very high bills will likely pull back on discretionary spending, including dining out often and even on grocery goods.
Climate change is a bummer. It’s hot, the sargassum is awful, so chill in the air con, pass the rum, but please add ice this time.
You are soooooo superior… I hope we all get that which we deserve.
Literally, everyone I know who I have asked has had a sizeable increase in their bill for May.
Throw us a frickin bone CUC. We get it, May was very hot, but there’s only so much we can do to cut consumption.
As for the ridiculous effort it is to get solar, that’s a whole other matter.
Buy solar panels and they will be outdated before you finish installing them, not to mention the very long time to recoup investment.
I installed my own, 10 years ago, took 5 years to breakeven. Still going strong.
Everyone you asked had a bigger bill because it was hotter than usual and they didn’t change anything in their lifestyle (bump the AC up a degree or two, for example). Like them, or more likely hate them, CUC doesn’t use your electricity, you do. Take some personal responsibility and either change your habits to get the bills you want, or live with the cost of electricity in a small Caribbean island that insists on a lifestyle far above and beyond its regional peers.