Another cold wet spell sees CUC sales fall
(CNS): Cayman’s power provider Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd has announced a fall in sales in its unaudited results for the third quarter ended 30 September. The local electricity firm said sales were impacted by cooler and wetter weather compared to the same period in 2009. Electricity sales for the third quarter of 2010 totalled 152.7 million kilowatt hours compared to 153.3 million kWh for the same period in 209. CUC said that so far this year it has added 507 customers and 151 of those signed up for power in the third quarter. CUC currently has 25,968 customers 2% up on 2009.
President and CEO of CUC Richard Hew said the firm was focused on trimming capital and other expenditures to preserve cash while meeting its obligations to serve reliably.
“As expected we are seeing very weak underlying growth in sales through the first three quarters of 2010 and this weakness is expected to continue through 201,” he said. We expect the lower growth on the island to last through 2011 and see few major construction projects scheduled to come on line which would increase demand.”
The results revealed that electricity sales revenue for the third quarter of 2010 was down slightly at $19.1 million from $19.2 million for the same period in 2009 but electricity sales were up $1.8 million or 4% for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 to $53.4 million compared to $51.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 mainly due to weather influences.
Net earnings for the third quarter of this year were down marginally from net earnings for the three months last year at 6.6 million, while earnings for the year so far are still up on 2009 by 8% because of higher temperatures during the first half of 2010.
Higher depreciation and financing costs in 2010 offset lower maintenance, general and administration and distribution expenses. After the adjustment for dividends on the Class B Preference Shares of the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for the third quarter of 2010 were $6.5 million, or $0.23 per Class A Ordinary Share, as compared to $6.1 million, or $0.21 per Class A Ordinary Share for the three months ended September 2009, the firm said.
After the adjustment for dividends on Class B Preference Shares, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 were up $1.6 million or 12% to $14.9 million, or $0.52 per Class A Ordinary Share, as compared to $13.3 million, or $0.47 per Class A
Ordinary Share for the nine months ended September 30, 2009.
In the firm’s message to shareholders management said it was disappointed that plans for a had 10 MW wind generating projected had been curtailed because government’s plans to install a Doppler radar facility in the same place but the firm remain committed to further development of alternative energy sources.
Category: Business
I was bored, so I checked.
Here are the facts relating to my CUC bills using approximate figures.
July 2009 – $250 July 2010 – $425
August 2009 – $285 August 2010 – $425
September 2009 – $300 September 2010 – $360
I’m beginning to realise that my cash flow problems are not in fact related to the "global economic slowdown" after all.
I’m also coming to realise that this report from CUC is not entirely truthful.
The difference of course lies in the fuel costs.
Who is the idiot in our goverment who is allowing CUC to weasle out of a committment to install 10 MW of wind generating power that will save the country and the consumers millions on dollars in foreign exchange into the future and install in it’s place a doppler rader station that going to cost us millions of dollars into the future?
Stupid move well done.
CUC is not weasiling out of any committment. Read the attached article including the statement from the Chief Met. Officer.
http://compasscayman.com/caycompass/2010/10/18/Wind-farm-plans-halted/
I dont know what they complaining about as they makes so much money off all of us already.
Hallelujah!!! Hopefully, this will continue and they’ll lower their prices AND GET RID OF THE UNNECESSARY FUEL ADJUSTMENT FEE!! You operate in a country, take SOME of the cost associated with doing business rather than have the consumer bear all the costs!
For your Information:
WIKIPEDIA (Internet Encyclopedia) states – "A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been altered by the object’s motion. This variation gives direct and highly accurate measurements of the radial component of a target’s velocity relative to the radar. Doppler radars are used in aviation, sounding satellites, police speed guns[1], and radiology."
One must wonder why is Government preventing a monopoly, namely, CUC from introduction something new that would lower energy cost?
Just curious
Cayman is small and flat. I doubt very much that there is only one location to test wind power, whereas we have to give government the benefit of the doubt since the radar has to be installed on government owned property.
It is up to CUC to prove that this is not a tactic to delay the implementation of renewable energy.
Of course its a tactic to delay the implementation of renewable energy. We all know how they operate….the "Hurricane Ivan recovery" charge that was on our bills for what…3 or 4 YEARS! Nobody realizes the figures they were generating by charging us this…at 25,000 houses they were making roughly $9,000,000.00 a year from this charge alone! The quicker somebosy comes in and knocks them on their high horse the better!
Perhaps I am naïve in hoping this will put this issue to rest.