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Senate committee hearing: bill would require CUC to reconcile estimated accounts quarterly and impose penalties
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Summary
At a Senate standing committee hearing, an unidentified speaker said he will introduce a bill to require CUC to reconcile estimated customer accounts on a quarterly basis, limit estimates to three months, and create penalties for noncompliance; the committee received no written testimony and adjourned by voice vote.
An unidentified participant at a Senate standing committee hearing said on the record that he will introduce a bill requiring CUC to reconcile estimated customer accounts on a quarterly basis and to limit any single estimate period to three months, with "very stiff" penalties for the commission to enforce.
"So the bill that I'm proposing tomorrow will mandate CUC to reconcile their estimated accounts on a quarterly basis and there's going to be some very stiff penalty that I am imposing in there for the commission to enforce," said Unidentified Speaker 1. He added that there is "no reason that an estimate will go on for more than 3 months." (Transcript excerpts.)
The speaker said he will share the proposed bill with the commission after formally introducing it and emphasized that customers—both commercial and residential—should receive credits promptly rather than waiting months or years. "Whatever CUC owes our rate payers, whether it's commercial or residential, that they also need to credit back the account timely and not after many months or years," he said.
A second unidentified participant, designated here as Unidentified Speaker 2, asked whether the proposal would close loopholes for consumers; Unidentified Speaker 1 replied that it would. Unidentified Speaker 2 also said there were no written testimonies submitted in support or opposition and stated that "all testimony taken this afternoon will be forwarded before the full Senate members in consideration for confirmation."
Unidentified Speaker 2 extended the committee's appreciation to Governor David M. Apateng, Lieutenant Governor Dennis Simindola, Representative David Santos, appointee Oscar Patrick Quirigua, and members of the public for participating in the hearing. After brief closing remarks, the committee moved to adjourn: a motion to adjourn was made and seconded, a voice vote was called with members saying "aye," and the public hearing was declared officially adjourned.
The transcript uses the acronym "CUC" without expanding it; the full name or legal status of CUC is not specified in the record. The speaker indicated he will formally introduce the bill the following day; no bill text, statutory citations, or specific penalty amounts were provided in the hearing record.
Next steps: the speaker intends to file the bill, and the committee forwarded oral testimony to the full Senate as stated on the record. Any further details about the proposed penalties, the precise legal mechanism for enforcement, or the agency name behind the "CUC" acronym were not specified in the hearing transcript.
