Caribbean Utilities Company, Ltd (CUC) saw first-quarter earnings ease as a cooler start to the year prompted households and businesses across Grand Cayman to use their air conditioners less often.
The power provider posted net earnings of US$7.2 million, or 17 cents per Class A ordinary share, for the three months to March.
That is down $0.4 million from the $7.6 million booked a year earlier, the company said in a 6 May announcement.
Cooling Degree Days, a measure of how much cooling buildings need, averaged 57.8 in the quarter, almost half the 102 recorded a year earlier.
The drop hit residential consumption hardest, although the customer base still grew 2% year-on-year on the back of a rising population and a busier economy.
Operating revenues rose 4% to $65.4 million, while operating expenses climbed 3% to $58.4 million.
Cayman’s tourism industry, a key driver of power demand, recorded its strongest-ever winter season for stayover arrivals.
CUC said new hotels and properties coming on stream are expected to lift consumption in the months ahead.
The utility passed $1.85 million in fuel cost savings on to customers during the quarter without markup and held net fuel efficiency steady at 19.20 kilowatt-hour per imperial gallon.
Its Battery Energy Storage System and Life Cycle Upgrade project trimmed thermal spinning reserve requirements by as much as 50%.
With international fuel prices climbing on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the Cayman Islands Government and CUC have rolled out a three-phase affordability programme.
From June to September, fuel costs above CI$0.18 per kWh will be subsidised for qualifying residential customers using between 101 kWh and 2,000 kWh a month, a band that covers about 85% of residential users.
Later phases will turn to home energy efficiency and a longer-term pivot to solar.
Meanwhile, the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (URCO) in March cleared CUC to keep eight generating units running for another decade, instead of retiring them in 2026 and 2027.
The move tackles a looming capacity gap and delivered a 10% drop in depreciation expense versus the same quarter a year earlier.
On 29 April, URCO told CUC its bid to build a 22.5 megawatt dispatchable solar plant paired with battery storage had been shortlisted and bumped up to the final quantitative evaluation stage.
CUC lodged the bid on 2 October 2025, responding to a tender URCO floated in July 2025.
The company is marking its 60th year in 2026 with its first brand refresh in six decades, and was recognised at National Heroes Day under the ‘Builders of Cayman’ category.
Chief executive officer Richard Hew said in a news release the company remains focused on delivering measurable cost savings through strategic infrastructure investments.
“The recent brand refresh reflects both CUC’s deep roots in Grand Cayman and its continued commitment to delivering value today while preparing for the future of energy,” he said.
CUC kept its annualised dividend yield at 5.6%, paying out $0.190 a share for the quarter, up from $0.185 a year earlier.
