Utilities

Electricity

Caribbean Utilities Company Ltd. (CUC)

PO Box 38, 457 North Sound Road

Grand Cayman KY1-1101

Tel: (345) 949 4300 Fax: (345) 945 1218

Email: service@cuc.ky

CUC has offices in several places but the West Shore Centre (aka Pink Plaza) office on West Bay Road is the easiest to find. They also have offices at their corporate headquarters on North Sound Road, which is near the airport. To obtain electricity service, property owners are not required to pay a deposit but are required to show proof of ownership. Property renters are required to pay a deposit as well as provide a rental agreement or lease. The standard is CI$100 per room and CI$500 for a condo over 1,100 sq ft. In all instances take your passport along as they will want to take a copy of the photo page. Opening hours are 8.30am to 4pm.

 Cayman runs on a 110V electricity system with 3-pin plugs. However, the sockets are designed to accommodate a 2-pin American plug. This means that any appliances from England and Europe will not work in Cayman but American appliances will. Electricity bills per month vary widely, depending on the size of the house, whether and how often and how cold you run your air conditioning and the efficiency of your air conditioning unit. For example, expect to pay approximately CI$130 per month for a non-airconditioned 2 bedroom house and CI$350 if it is air-conditioned. A 3–4 bedroom house, which is air-conditioned, will cost at least CI$500 per month. You can download customer service forms from the company’s website, as well as energy saving tips at www.cuc-cayman.com.

Gas – Household

Home Gas Ltd.

PO Box 291, Citrus Grove, Goring Ave

Grand Cayman KY1-1104

Tel: (345) 949 7474 Fax: (345) 949 0845

Bottled gas is used for cooking in some homes and is available from Home Gas (Tel: 949 7474). They are located on Goring Avenue in the Citrus Grove Building. The cost is CI$75 per 100 lb cylinder. The 20 lb cylinders used for barbecuing can be found at most gas stations but you must have an empty cylinder to swap out. The cost is CI$24.50.

Petrol

In Cayman, there are numerous Esso and Texaco petrol stations most of them with convenience shops selling toiletries, groceries, water, gas cylinders and snacks. The average cost of a gallon of full service petrol at the pumps is now around CI$4.50 although the price varies from one petrol station to another. Self-serve petrol is about CI$0.05 cheaper and diesel is about CI$4.10 per gallon. Paying at the pump with local or international debit or credit cards is available at six Esso petrol stations. Please note that the petrol pump nozzles on both diesel and petrol are the same size in Cayman, unlike in Europe and the US where they are different sizes. Therefore it is quite possible to mistakenly put diesel in a petrol-run car.

Water

Cayman Water (Tel: (345) 945 4277) and The Water Authority (Tel: (345) 949 6352) supply Grand Cayman with quality water. Both companies extract water from 250ft. wells located throughout the Island. The well water is very similar to seawater and so the water has to be treated via reverse osmosis. This process, together with the addition of three chemicals (fluoride is not one of them), makes the water safe to drink. If you are renting an apartment the water bill must be left in the landlord’s name, however, a duplicate bill will be sent to you directly to pay. Check with your landlord as to whether you should pay the water company, as some landlords choose to bill you and pay it directly themselves. Landlords may also ask for a deposit for the water. Of the two water companies, Cayman Water serves the Seven Mile Beach and West Bay areas and the Water Authority serves the rest of Grand Cayman. They both require you to fill out an application, present your Land Registry form (which proves you own the house) and then pay a CI$80 non-refundable connection fee. Also, make sure the previous owners have paid the last water bill or, as the new owners, having an outstanding balance on the account will complicate things. Water is not cheap so make sure you don’t run up a bill of hundreds of dollars by having a leaking tap or running toilet. The first 12 cubic meters (or 3,200 US gallons) will be charged at CI$4.01/m3. Above that it will cost you CI$5.10/m3. An average water bill for two people in a two bedroom house, using 20m3 is CI$89 per month. The Water Authority’s website, www.waterauthority.ky will give access to information on outage updates, tips on saving water, water and sewage application forms, meter reading requests, on-line fault reports and offer free water-saving shower heads.

  If your home is on cistern or well water you probably will want to drink bottled water. There are water companies on the Island that can deliver bottled water right to your home. Flowers Bottled Water (Tel: 949 8688) supplies water coolers and five gallon water bottles. It costs CI$5–6 for a five gallon bottle and you can rent or buy cooler stands from them too. Alternatively, many supermarkets, Priced Right and Jacques Scott’s wholesale department sells Zephyrhills and other spring water by the case.