Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd. is listed for
trading in United States dollars
on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "CUP.U".
GRAND
CAYMAN, Cayman
Islands, May 4, 2022 /CNW/ - Caribbean Utilities
Company, Ltd. ("CUC" or "the Company") announced today its
unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2022 ("First Quarter 2022" or "Q1
2022") (all figures in United
States dollars).
Customers in Grand Cayman stand
to benefit from major investments which the Company will make over
the next five years. That's because the Utility Regulation and
Competition Office ("OfReg ") has approved the proposed 2022-2026
Capital Investment Plan which the Company submitted last
October.
The 2022-2026 Capital Investment Plan is in the amount of
$373.2 million and includes
$22.0 million for two grid resiliency
projects which will involve the undergrounding of the Company's
Transmission & Distribution infrastructure from the North Sound
Plant to the Seven Mile Beach and South Sound substations.
Undergrounding of these lines will provide resilience and improve
power restoration times after a tropical storm or a
hurricane.
The plan will also include the roll out of public electric
vehicle charging locations which will be available in key locations
around Grand Cayman. A 20 megawatt
Battery Energy Storage Project which will allow the Company to
improve the fuel efficiency of its diesel generating plant while
also supporting further adoption of distributed renewable energy
projects is also included in the plan among several other projects
designed to improve service reliability, efficiency and
environmental performance.
During First Quarter 2022, the Company recorded an increase in
our customer base. Total customers as at March 31, 2022 were 32,365, an increase of 869
customers, or 3%, compared to 31,496 customers as at March 31, 2021.
Net earnings increased by $2.2
million from $3.3 million for
the three months ended March 31, 2021
("First Quarter 2021" or "Q1 2021") to $5.5
million for First Quarter 2022. The increase in net earnings
is primarily attributable to higher operating income and lower
finance charges.
After the adjustment for dividends on the preference shares of
the Company, earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares for Q1 2022 were
$5.4 million or $0.14 per Class A Ordinary Share, compared to
earnings on Class A Ordinary Shares of $3.2
million, or $0.09 per Class A
Ordinary Share for Q1 2021.
Electricity sales revenues were $22.1
million for Q1 2022, an increase of $0.7 million when compared to electricity sales
revenues of $21.4 million for Q1
2021. Electricity sales revenues for Q1 2022 increased when
compared to the same period last year due to a 4% increase in
kilowatt hour ("kWh") sales.
President and CEO, Mr. Richard
Hew, stated, "The growth in the tourism industry with the
reopening of the island was positive for our large commercial
electricity sales and the overall economic activity in Grand Cayman. The Company remained focused on
controlling its operating costs during a period of rising costs and
the uncertainty in the supply chain for materials and equipment.
Also in the period, the Company recorded its best ever measurement
of reliability of service to its customers. The average total
outage time was 0.5 hours per customer. The Company has also
arranged for the delivery of temporary generation to meet this
summer's projected peak load while the regulator prepares to
procure more solar energy for the grid. The Company looks forward
to participating in this procurement process which is aligned with
our ambition to have 60% of the energy on the grid from renewable
sources by 2030 to lower and stabilize electricity costs and reduce
greenhouse gases and other emissions."
During First Quarter 2022, approximately 3.36% of the total
kilowatt- hour sales was generated from renewable energy. This is
the combination of charges from the Customer Owned Renewable Energy
("CORE") and Distributed Energy Resources ("DER") programmes and
the BMR Energy Limited ("BMR Energy") 5-MW solar farm in Bodden
Town.
In April 2022, OfReg issued a
Request for Qualification ("RFQ") for the Renewable Energy Auction
Scheme ("REAS") Competition Round 1. The REAS Round 1 is intended
to select a party, or parties, to operate and maintain Solar
Photovoltaic Plants and Energy Storage up to 100MW, with 60MW
Battery Energy Storage System Facility. OfReg also issued an RFQ
for a 23MW Dispatchable Photovoltaic Generation plant paired with
energy storage facility. CUC is preparing to participate on these
bid invitations.
The Cayman Islands Government ("the Government") subsequently
announced on April 27, 2022 a change
in policy direction and its intention to hold a majority ownership
stake in all future large scale renewable energy projects. CUC will
engage in discussions with the Government and OfReg to determine
whether the recently announced RFQs will be affected by this change
in policy and what impact this announcement will have on future
renewable energy plans.
CUC's First Quarter results and related Management's Discussion
and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended March 31, 2022 are incorporated by reference. The
MD&A section of this report contains a discussion of CUC's
unaudited 2022 First Quarter results, the Cayman Islands economy, liquidity and capital
resources, capital expenditures and the business risks facing the
Company. The release and First Quarter 2022 MD&A can be
accessed at www.cuc-cayman.com (Investor Relations/Press Releases)
and at www.sedar.com.
CUC provides electricity to Grand
Cayman, Cayman Islands,
under an Electricity Generation Licence expiring in 2029 and an
exclusive Electricity Transmission and Distribution Licence
expiring in 2028. Further information is available at
www.cuc-cayman.com.
Certain statements in the MD&A, other than statements of
historical fact, are forward-looking statements concerning
anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or
expectations with respect to the Company and its operations,
including its strategy and financial performance and condition.
Forward looking statements include statements that are
predictive in nature, depend upon future events or conditions, or
include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plan", "believes",
"estimates", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts",
"schedule", or negative versions thereof and other similar
expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will",
"should", "would" and "could". Forward looking statements are based
on underlying assumptions and management's beliefs, estimates and
opinions, and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties
surrounding future expectations generally that may cause actual
results to vary from plans, targets and estimates. Some of the
important risks and uncertainties that could affect forward looking
statements are described in the MD&A in the section
labeled "Business Risks" and include but are not limited to
operational, general economic, market and business conditions,
regulatory developments and weather. CUC cautions readers
that actual results may vary significantly from those expected
should certain risks or uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect. Forward-looking statements
are provided for the purpose of providing information about
management's current expectations and plans relating to the future.
Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate
for other purposes. The Company disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise
except as required by law.
SOURCE Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd.