Profile Overview
U.S Energy Atlas with total energy layers
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- The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) meets nearly all of its energy needs with imported petroleum products. In 2021, refined petroleum products were CNMI’s top import and accounted for 18% of the Commonwealth’s total import costs that year.
- Electricity customers in CNMI pay a fuel surcharge that varies with the price of diesel fuel. In May 2020, the fuel surcharge was at a low of 8 cents per kilowatthour, but it rose to a high of 43 cents per kilowatthour by July 2022. In February 2024, CNMI's fuel surcharge was about 25 cents per kilowatthour.
- The CNMI Office of Planning and Development has received proposals for several large solar energy projects in recent years. A large 20-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) facility on Saipan is in development and scheduled to come online in 2025.
- CNMI's electric utility generates electricity at five diesel-fueled power plants (three on Saipan and one each on Tinian and Rota) and the territory’s entire population has access to electricity.
- In 2022, electricity sales in CNMI were at their highest level since 2017, and the price per kilowatthour was at its lowest level since 2016. However, the average electricity price in CNMI was twice the U.S. 50-state average in 2022.
Last Updated: March 21, 2024