Healthy budget surplus may mean another 3-month extension of GPA discount

Therese Terlaje, who has been the legislative champion of laws every three months that have granted $100 discounts on Guam Power Authority bills, is waiting for official word from the administration that there is a budget surplus being tracked of at least $15 million. If there is, she indicated, she would be inclined to push for another three-month extension.

The discount, dubbed Prugraman Ayuda I-Taotao ta Energy Credit, was funded up to last month’s GPA billing for subscribers. If the legislature does not extend the discount for another three months by this week, consumers will be receiving full power bills for the month.

“I would love to extend this but the problem is that we don’t know if there is enough money for another extension,” Ms. Terlaje said, referring to the administration’s late submission of the regular consolidated revenues and expenditures report (CRER) that informs senators how revenue collections are tracking for the fiscal year.

Because the discount was not factored into the annual government budget, the cost of it has been drawn from projected budget surpluses.

“We don’t have a CRER for March yet because their new system is down,” Ms. Terlaje said, referring to the administration’s recent switch from the antiquated AS-400 accounting system to the new financial management software. “And the February CRER only indicates a $4 million surplus. We need $15 million for another three months.”

Kandit reached out to the governor’s office following Ms. Terlaje’s concern, and the governor’s spokeswoman, Krystal Paco-San Agustin, confirmed the administration is tracking a budget net surplus above $15 million.

According to a draft report Ms. Paco-San Agustin provided to Kandit, Governor Lou Leon Guerrero’s fiscal year budget management is doing extraordinarily well, with a projected total surplus of $69 million. Five appropriations measures, including three extensions of the GPA discount this fiscal year, have eaten up $40 million of that surplus already, leaving a net surplus of more than $21.5 million.

Ms. Terlaje has yet to see Kandit’s message to her following up with this new information and inquiring whether she now will push for an extension of the discount for another three months.