H.R. 10074: Affordable Power for the Northern Marianas Act

This bill would direct how a specific pool of federal funding for the Northern Mariana Islands is used starting in fiscal year 2027.

What the bill sets aside

Out of the money already available for capital improvement projects under the existing funding arrangement for the Northern Mariana Islands, the bill would reserve $15 million per year for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

How the money would be used

The $15 million would be split into two main uses:

• Up to $3 million could be used to address immigration, labor, or law enforcement issues in the Commonwealth.
• The rest would go to capital infrastructure projects focused on the Commonwealth’s electric power system. These projects could modernize, replace, repair, strengthen, expand, or otherwise improve things like:
  • power generation
  • fuel systems
  • energy storage
  • transmission and distribution lines
  • control and communications systems
  • other equipment needed to operate or stabilize electric service

How the Interior Secretary would have to prioritize spending

The Secretary of the Interior would have to use the funds in this order:

• First, spend funds on the immigration, labor, or law enforcement purposes.
• Only after that, make funds available for electric system projects.

For the electric projects, the bill says priority should go to projects that are expected to:

• lower or stabilize electricity rates
• cut fuel or operating costs
• reduce exposure to fuel price changes
• improve how efficiently the system generates power
• reduce the frequency, length, or cost of power outages

It also requires that the projects benefit the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation or any successor public utility that provides electricity in the Commonwealth.

In addition, the bill would bar any local matching or cost-sharing requirement for these projects, meaning the Commonwealth would not have to contribute its own funds as a condition of receiving the federal money.

What the bill would not change

The bill says it would not change:

• the total amount available for capital improvement projects for all insular areas under the existing funding agreement, or
• the total amount otherwise available for all insular areas under related federal law.

When the special funding would end

If a new multi-year funding agreement later takes effect that replaces the 2004 agreement, this bill’s special funding rule would stop applying. After October 1 of the first year covered by that new agreement, funding would follow the terms of that successor agreement and any law approving or implementing it.

Relevant Companies

None found