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About CUC

Commonwealth Utilities Corporation

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) is a state government corporation that operates the electric power, water and wastewater services on the three main islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) ‐‐‐ Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The CNMI is one of five U.S. territories (which include Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa). CUC is an autonomous agency of the CNMI government. As an autonomous agency, the CUC has an independent Board of Directors, who are appointed by the Governor, whose members serve a concurrent four‐year term.

Through a transition period between U.S. Trust Territory management and after the ratification of the CNMI Covenant, in 1975, the CNMI enacted legislation creating CUC. Due to a number of delays in actual implementation, the CUC did not take over operations until October 1987, which up to that time operated under the Department of Public Works. In the Special Representatives Agreement negotiated between the governments of the CNMI and the United States in July 1985, the CNMI government agreed that utility systems would operate on a full cost recovery basis within three years after passage of the enabling legislation. To date, CUC has yet to achieve full cost recovery.

Locales of Responsibility

There are 14 islands within the CNMI. CUC is responsible for providing power, water and sewer services to the three main islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. Presently, Saipan is the only island where CUC provides wastewater treatment services.

Mission Statement

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation is dedicated to excellent customer service and providing reliable, environmentally sensitive and effective Power, Water and Wastewater services for the people of the CNMI at the lowest reasonable cost while ensuring the safety of our  employees and the community.

Vision

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation’s vision is to be the preeminent, trusted power, water, and wastewater utility.

Through team and continuous quality improvement:

      • To improve the customer’s quality of service experience for all three utilities.
        • Provide efficient, reliable power that incorporates both new diesel and alternative power supply sources.
        • For customers to experience safe and palatable drinking water at the tap once we achieve 30% Non-Revenue Water.
        • Protect water quality of Saipan’s shores with rebuilt, well-maintained wastewater treatment and reuse facilities, which will include new collection and treatment systems in Rota and Tinian.
      • Provide excellent customer service.
      • Provide high-value services at affordable rates for all utilities.
      • Protect and enhance the environment.
      • Deliver value to all our stakeholders.

Values

Core values that are tied to work performance, commitment to professionalism, practiced daily, promoted without compromise and communicated through action:

    • Safety:  Assuring every employee is trained, has the tools to perform, understands their role
    • Respect: Treating everyone fairly, honorably, and non-judgmentally
    • Teamwork: Sharing a common vision, looking out for each other, operating transparently and working together as one team toward common goals
    • Excellence: Striving to provide quality services to our customers by producing a high value product and consistently meeting our production targets
    • Accountability: Being a responsible steward of critical services, long-lived infrastructure, and protector of a well-meaning and well-trained pool of professional employees
    • Integrity:  Accountable for our actions, ethical and transparent, honest in everything we do
    • Communication:  Open and transparent communication at all levels of the organization that is constructive and distributed out to our customers, Board, business partners and the community at large