Guam - The Consolidated Commission on Utilities approved the Guam Waterworks Authority's Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan. The plan included hundreds of millions of dollars worth of CIPs, including the repair and upgrade of GWA's watertanks and bringing the southern waste water plants to secondary treatment.

CCU chairman Simon Sanchez says the five-year rate plan will result in about a 67% rate increase or about a $40 increase in your water bill over the next five years. The rate plan will now have to go before the Public Utilities Commission for approval along with the Guam Legislature to give GWA authorization to borrow close to $400 million worth of loans over the five year period.

He adds the PUC is required to have public hearings on the rate increase along with GWA who will also plan its own community outreach. He says under the Ratepayers Bill of Rights, it most likely won't be addressed until the summer with a decision made before the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1.