CUC presents IRP findings, seeks IPP bids and funding options as fuel costs stay volatile

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation presented an updated Integrated Resource Plan and power-project status to the CNMI Senate on a briefing that reviewed island-level financial modeling, near-term procurement steps and funding options.

The IRP consultant and CUC management told senators that, while large capital plans will be required, a program of utility-scale solar PV with battery energy storage would reduce long-term net losses compared with “business as usual” diesel generation and that staff will solicit private partners to build and operate projects.

The plan matters because diesel fuel has driven wide swings in the fuel adjustment charge and threatens reliability: the presentation showed the CNMI’s fuel adjustment charge ranged from about 8¢ per kilowatt-hour in June 2020 to roughly 43¢ in June 2022 and was about 23¢ as of February 2025. Senators repeatedly stressed the effect on ratepayers and asked how the IRP’s timeline and procurement would limit short-term bill impacts.

The consultant’s headline findings and island-level modeling

The IRP consultant summarized techno‑economic scenarios comparing large-scale solar plus batteries against continued reliance on diesel engines. Presenter Mister Tenorio, the IRP consultant from GHD, summarized projected net present values (NPV) in the slides: “the net present value, we’re looking at, negative 86,000,000 with the solar…if it was business as usual with…diesel generators, we’re looking at negative $202,000,000” for Saipan over the modeling horizon. For Tinian the slides showed an NPV of about negative $31,000,000 with solar versus negative $128,000,000 under business as usual; for Rota the NPV figures were about negative $46,000,000 with solar versus negative $80,000,000 for business as usual.

The consultant also presented system-size examples the IRP used for planning: Saipan modeled…