SAIPAN — Representative Vincent “Kobre” Aldan accused the Senate of sitting on three bills targeting billing practices, valuation and a full audit of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, in a live video broadcast Friday night in which he also announced he will seek re-election as an independent aligned with the Attao-Villagomez ticket.
Aldan, who chairs the House Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications Committee, said his audit bill, House Bill 24-88, was tabled in the Senate this week. The measure calls for what he described as a full audit of CUC covering finances, procurement, contracts, assets and staffing.
“When you’re talking about somebody’s life, it’s not a goddamn game,” Aldan said of legislative delays. “If you are sitting in the legislature or in government, and you’re talking about, you just gotta learn to play the game, you have no business being in the government to begin with.”
Aldan said his Fair Billing Act would require service providers to bill accurately and on time, with customers released from charges not billed within four months, while also barring ratepayers from gaming the system. He accused Senator Corina L. Magofna of repeatedly postponing action on the measure. A third bill would commission an independent appraisal of CUC’s transmission and distribution system, power and water plants, and debt ahead of any potential privatization, which Aldan said is needed to prevent the public from being shortchanged in a sale.
Holding up his own utility bill on camera, Aldan said he was charged $22.30 for a connection that has been physically severed since Super Typhoon Sinlaku damaged his weatherhead, including six cents in electric usage. He said broken meters left unrepaired lead to estimated billing, and dismissed explanations from CUC Executive Director Kevin Watson attributing meter failures to salt air, saying maintenance programs exist for exactly that reason.
Aldan also criticized a proposal to let CUC borrow money using customer security deposits as collateral, saying ratepayers would ultimately pay back the loan with interest, and pointed to what he described as more than $40 million in uncollected CUC arrears. He said he is drafting new legislation to redirect the CUC dividend paid to the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority toward funding the audit, arguing the dividend is built into rates and ultimately paid by ratepayers. A separate measure addressing CEDA dividends, Senate Bill 24-52, is on the agenda for Wednesday’s Fourth Special Session.
Aldan warned that residents shifting to solar after the typhoon will shrink CUC’s customer base and push rates higher for those who remain, predicting a federal takeover if the utility’s finances are not fixed.
“I delivered my part,” he said. “Now you gotta call all of these other so-called leaders and get their shit together and fix the goddamn problem.”
Aldan closed by confirming he will run again in November as an independent aligned with the Attao-Villagomez gubernatorial ticket.