Doris Flores Brooks hears questions on rates, water loss and litigation costs at PUC confirmation hearing
November 25, 2025 | General Government Operations and Appropriations , Legislative, Guam
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The Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities, Federal and Foreign Affairs on Tuesday heard testimony supporting the reappointment of former Senator Doris Flores Brooks to a six-year term as the certified public accountant representative on the Guam Public Utilities Commission.
Mary Ann Wallace Chuck, legal counsel to the Guam Power Authority and a former assistant attorney general, testified she has known Brooks for more than 20 years and "strongly recommend[ed] that Miss Brooks be appointed as the CPA representative to the Public Utilities Commission," citing Brooks' work as public auditor and on the Guam Board of Accountancy to expose "waste, fraud, abuse" and to promote transparency.
Dr. Jeff Johnson, introduced himself as chairman of the PUC and also urged the committee to support Brooks, saying she "has conscientiously performed her duties" during six years on the commission and has helped improve the PUC's accounting procedures and reporting.
Brooks thanked the governor for reappointing her and summarized her PUC record, including participation in multi-utility rate proceedings and review of bond issuances and contract awards. "If confirmed, I will do my best to conscientiously perform my duties and responsibilities as commissioner," she told the committee.
Senators used the hearing to press Brooks on several oversight issues. Chairman Jesse A. Luhan asked how PUC certifications for telecoms that use federal universal-service funds ensure tangible benefits for Guam ratepayers; Brooks described the renewal process, administrative-law-judge reviews and disclosure of planned use of funds during certification.
On affordability, Brooks said the commission uses a lifeline rate to protect lower-income customers but did not provide detailed thresholds in the hearing. She also described the PUC practice of treating extraordinary litigation costs as regulatory assets to be amortized over multiple years and said the commission is building reserves for such items. "GPA has a fund now that's close to $20,000,000," she said as an example of a reserve to help cover extraordinary costs without immediate additional rate increases.
Brooks identified chronic water loss at the Guam Water Works Authority as a major concern—"It's still around approximately 50%"—and said fully addressing water loss requires long-term, costly pipe replacement over many years. She also discussed the proposed base rate tied to the Okudu plant financing, suggesting the commission consider making a base-rate increase term-limited (for example, the 25-year financing term) rather than permanent.
Committee members raised a recent GPA contract for security services for roughly $6,000,000 and asked how such expenditures are weighed against customer rates; Brooks said GPA concluded outsourcing was cheaper than an in-house solution and that cybersecurity insurance and related reimbursements are becoming a growing cost driver.
On bond financing, Brooks cited recent GWA financing of about $225,000,000, noted the Legislature had authorized up to $300,000,000 for utility financing, and said the commission recently approved a $75,000,000 short-term bank financing arrangement to bridge near-term projects. She also said federal and military-related revenues ("section 30" funds tied to Marines activity) are an important fiscal factor for Guam.
Chairman Luhan said he cannot report the nomination out of committee until January; the panel will accept written testimony for five business days addressed to Senator Jesse A. Luhan. No formal confirmation vote occurred at the hearing.
The hearing closed at 2:45 p.m.
Mary Ann Wallace Chuck, legal counsel to the Guam Power Authority and a former assistant attorney general, testified she has known Brooks for more than 20 years and "strongly recommend[ed] that Miss Brooks be appointed as the CPA representative to the Public Utilities Commission," citing Brooks' work as public auditor and on the Guam Board of Accountancy to expose "waste, fraud, abuse" and to promote transparency.
Dr. Jeff Johnson, introduced himself as chairman of the PUC and also urged the committee to support Brooks, saying she "has conscientiously performed her duties" during six years on the commission and has helped improve the PUC's accounting procedures and reporting.
Brooks thanked the governor for reappointing her and summarized her PUC record, including participation in multi-utility rate proceedings and review of bond issuances and contract awards. "If confirmed, I will do my best to conscientiously perform my duties and responsibilities as commissioner," she told the committee.
Senators used the hearing to press Brooks on several oversight issues. Chairman Jesse A. Luhan asked how PUC certifications for telecoms that use federal universal-service funds ensure tangible benefits for Guam ratepayers; Brooks described the renewal process, administrative-law-judge reviews and disclosure of planned use of funds during certification.
On affordability, Brooks said the commission uses a lifeline rate to protect lower-income customers but did not provide detailed thresholds in the hearing. She also described the PUC practice of treating extraordinary litigation costs as regulatory assets to be amortized over multiple years and said the commission is building reserves for such items. "GPA has a fund now that's close to $20,000,000," she said as an example of a reserve to help cover extraordinary costs without immediate additional rate increases.
Brooks identified chronic water loss at the Guam Water Works Authority as a major concern—"It's still around approximately 50%"—and said fully addressing water loss requires long-term, costly pipe replacement over many years. She also discussed the proposed base rate tied to the Okudu plant financing, suggesting the commission consider making a base-rate increase term-limited (for example, the 25-year financing term) rather than permanent.
Committee members raised a recent GPA contract for security services for roughly $6,000,000 and asked how such expenditures are weighed against customer rates; Brooks said GPA concluded outsourcing was cheaper than an in-house solution and that cybersecurity insurance and related reimbursements are becoming a growing cost driver.
On bond financing, Brooks cited recent GWA financing of about $225,000,000, noted the Legislature had authorized up to $300,000,000 for utility financing, and said the commission recently approved a $75,000,000 short-term bank financing arrangement to bridge near-term projects. She also said federal and military-related revenues ("section 30" funds tied to Marines activity) are an important fiscal factor for Guam.
Chairman Luhan said he cannot report the nomination out of committee until January; the panel will accept written testimony for five business days addressed to Senator Jesse A. Luhan. No formal confirmation vote occurred at the hearing.
The hearing closed at 2:45 p.m.
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