By Rep. Vincent “Kobre” Aldan
This should not be complicated. It is common sense.
When electricity is expensive, everything becomes expensive.
The grocery store pays more to keep food cold.
The restaurant pays more to run its kitchen.
The hotel pays more to cool its rooms.
The laundromat pays more to operate its machines.
The hospital pays more to keep critical systems running.
CUC pays more to pump and treat our water.
Government pays more to operate schools, offices, streetlights, wastewater systems, and public facilities.
Businesses pay more in overhead.
And where do those costs eventually go?
Straight to the consumer.
That is the domino effect.
High energy costs become higher food prices, higher rent, higher hotel rates, higher service costs, higher government expenses, lower business profits, fewer jobs, less investment, and less money in the pockets of our families.
Then we wonder why businesses struggle.
We wonder why investors hesitate.
We wonder why young families leave.
We wonder why the cost of living keeps climbing.
We wonder why government revenues remain weak.
We wonder why economic growth is so difficult.
Start looking at the electric bill.
Energy touches almost every single part of our economy.
Now reverse the dominoes.
Lower the cost of reliable electricity and businesses keep more of their money.
Families keep more of their paychecks.
Hotels become more competitive.
Food and services become less expensive to produce.
Government spends less operating public facilities.
New industries become more realistic.
Investors have another reason to choose the CNMI.
More money circulates within our islands instead of leaving our economy to purchase imported fuel.
That is why this discussion cannot simply be about diesel, solar, batteries, nuclear, or SMRs.
The question is much bigger:
How do we provide the people of the CNMI with the cheapest, safest, most reliable, most resilient, and most sustainable electricity possible?
Because whichever technology accomplishes that responsibly can help unlock our entire economy.
Cheap power is not just about saving $50 or $100 on somebody’s monthly bill.
Cheap, reliable power can lower the cost of living.
Cheap, reliable power can lower the cost of doing business.
Cheap, reliable power can attract investment.
Cheap, reliable power can create jobs.
Cheap, reliable power can strengthen tourism.
Cheap, reliable power can strengthen healthcare.
Cheap, reliable power can strengthen water security.
Cheap, reliable power can help keep our people home.
And that is why I keep saying:
ENERGY POLICY IS ECONOMIC POLICY.
If we get energy wrong, the consequences ripple through almost everything else we are trying to fix.
But if we get energy right?
We change the economic trajectory of the entire Commonwealth.
That is not complicated economics.
That is common sense.
Rep. Vincent “Kobre” Aldan represents Precinct 1 in the CNMI House of Representatives.
Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NMI News Service or its staff. All assertions are the sole responsibility of the writer.
