DOE's power bill over $11M annually

by Krystal Paco

Guam - Leaving the lights on may deter vandals on school campuses after hours but it's also eating up at DOE's power bill. At last night's Guam Education Board meeting, members expressed concerns for the cost to power up the island's 40 public schools.

DOE superintendent Jon Fernandez says power remains a major expenditure and despite individual school efforts to reduce energy consumption, they're paying more due to higher power rates. Still, DOE continues to explore their options. "I think at some point we can look at some issues like the CNMI did and require that the air conditioners get shut off at 2pm, turned on at a certain time off at a certain time and let that be a directive," he said. "We've been hesitant to do that because some of our schools are going to be more uncomfortable than others."

There's also legislation that would help address DOE's power woes, including Bill 74 that would allow DOE to partner with private providers to afford alternative energy.

Last year it cost $11.5 million to power up DOE schools under the old rate.