By Gregorie Michael Towai (Eipéráng)
There is something deeply wrong about asking people who are still living through disaster recovery to absorb massive utility increases while many still do not even have stable water, reliable power, or the ability to rebuild what they lost after Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
For many families across the Commonwealth, recovery never really began.
Some are still cleaning debris. Some are still patching roofs with tarps. Some are still relying on extension cords, generators, bottled water, or relatives. Some lost appliances, vehicles, businesses, savings, and in some cases, nearly everything they owned.
And now those same families are being told that the Fuel Adjustment Charge on their power bill is jumping from $0.24500 to $0.44489 per kilowatt hour almost overnight.
Possibly even higher next month.
At what point are people supposed to break?
What makes this even harder to understand is that many residents are being asked to pay more for systems that still do not consistently work for them.
Many people are still experiencing outages. Many communities are still dealing with unreliable water access. Many families already struggle to choose between groceries, gas, medicine, rent, and utility payments.
Now imagine adding another hundred, two hundred, or even three hundred dollars per month to already stressed households.
For some families, that is grocery money. For others, it is medication. For others, it is school supplies, fuel to get to work, or simply survival.
The reality on the ground is that people are exhausted.
Emotionally. Financially. Mentally.
And what frustrates many rate payers is not simply the global fuel crisis itself. Most people understand that world events affect fuel prices. What people are asking is why the CNMI still remains this vulnerable after years of warnings, years of discussions, years of promises about modernization, renewable energy, infrastructure upgrades, and resilience planning.
At times it feels like living inside a broken record.
The same hearings. The same concerns. The same promises. The same frustrations. The same questions being asked over and over again after every storm, every outage, every fuel increase, every infrastructure failure.
Why are we still so dependent on imported fuel? Why are families always the ones expected to absorb the shock? Why does recovery always feel incomplete? Why do we continue reacting to crisis after crisis instead of finally fixing the deeper structural problems?
For many people, this no longer feels like temporary hardship. It feels like a nonstop loop.
A cycle where the public keeps paying more while asking the same unanswered questions year after year.
Why do families continue carrying the burden while so many unanswered questions remain about long term planning, efficiency, infrastructure priorities, procurement transparency, and accountability?
The people deserve answers.
Not political talking points. Not temporary press releases. Not explanations that only appear after another crisis erupts.
The people deserve to know: What long term energy strategy actually exists? What renewable projects have succeeded or failed? What operational inefficiencies remain unresolved? What is being done right now to reduce dependency on imported diesel? Why does it feel like ordinary families are constantly the ones expected to absorb every emergency?
Representative Vincent “Kobre” Aldan is absolutely right in calling for a true independent utility audit. The public deserves transparency before being asked to shoulder even more financial pain.
Because from the perspective of many struggling residents, this no longer feels sustainable.
The CNMI cannot continue operating in permanent emergency mode where families repeatedly absorb disaster after disaster, crisis after crisis, increase after increase, while basic infrastructure remains fragile.
Typhoon Sinlaku should have been a wake up call.
Not just about storms. Not just about climate resilience. But about the deeper structural vulnerabilities facing our islands.
Reliable water should not feel like a luxury. Reliable electricity should not feel uncertain after every disaster. Recovery should not take this long in an American territory. And families already struggling to rebuild should not feel abandoned the moment headlines disappear.
The truth is that people are tired.
Tired of hearing about resilience while struggling to survive. Tired of carrying the financial burden of systems they did not create. Tired of feeling like island communities are always expected to endure hardship quietly.
The people of the Commonwealth are resilient. But resilience should not be confused with endless sacrifice.
At some point, leadership must meet the people halfway.
Gregorie Michael Towai (Eipéráng) is a CNMI born independent researcher, cultural advocate, and founder of the Refaluwasch Journal of Knowledge and Culture (RJKC). His work focuses on Pacific governance, resilience, Indigenous stewardship, and sustainable futures for island communities.
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. To submit an op-ed for consideration, email your piece to brad.ruszala@nminewsservice.com.