24 Jan 2011

CNMI pays part of power bill, but power could still be cut

2:56 pm on 24 January 2011

The government of the Northern Marianas has paid the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation 537,000 US dollars for power consumption.

But the sum is only a fraction of the amount the government owes and offers no guarantee that offices and departments will not be disconnected from the power grid.

As of last December, the government owed about 2.5 million dollars to the utilities corporation.

Because of non-payment, power and water lines to many departments and agencies were cut off - mostly to non-essential offices as classified by the Executive Branch.