Taking Back Our Power
Call on Hawaiian Electric Co. to extend the utility shut off moratorium + implement bill forgiveness
We are asking Hawaiian Electric Co. to extend their moratorium on electricity shut offs and implement bill forgiveness measures for at least six months after the Stay at Home Orders end.
Residents throughout Hawaiʻi Island, Maui Nui and Oʻahu have seen drastic increases in their electricity bills since March.
Yes, we are all home more now so it is simple enough to say we are using more electricity than normal. While that is true, let's explore this issue a bit further:
Due to COVID-19, Hawaiian Electric did not send out meter readers in March. The company estimated your bills based on your previous month's usage. Once they resumed meter reads in May, they sent bills that reflected any over or underestimation on their part from March and April—often times resulting in extremely high bills.
On any given day, commercial electricity rates are lower than residential rates. This makes sense in a business-as-usual landscape: commercial entities use more electricity, so even at a lower rate, they are still paying more than residential. But now, with many companies continuing to encourage telecommuting, many of us are using our residential electricity—at a higher rate—to do our business and schooling.
Hawaiian Electric passes on oil price increases to rate payers, to ensure the company does not lose money no matter how much the price of oil is. This "Energy Cost Recovery Clause" on paper works both ways—with price increases and decreases—but in all actuality, rate payers hardly see savings when oil prices drop, such as now during COVID-19 when oil prices are extremely low.
We have heard several accounts of electricity bills doubling and even tripling during the Stay at Home Orders. With over 140,000 people in Hawaiʻi unemployed due to COVID-19, many families in our communities are struggling to meet monthly expenses. Residents should not have to choose which life sustaining needs they will meet each month, like medical bills, electricity and water. There is currently a moratorium on utility shut offs due to non-payment, but it is set to end on September 1. Our communities will still be facing financial hardship in the fall and we are calling on Hawaiian Electric to extend the moratorium and implement bill forgiveness measures for at least six months beyond the end of the Stay at Home Orders. Share your voice, tell your story and demand that Hawaiian Electric demonstrate its commitment to our communities!
Hawaiian Electric On A Power Trip: How We Got Here
Hawaiʻi does not just pay the most for electricity in the United States, our electricity rates are 214.31% greater than the national average.
On one level, our electricity rates are so high because of the price of oil (and the importing of oil), which is Hawaiʻi's main source of energy, and the fixed costs of power plants and maintaining the grid infrastructure. On another level, our electricity rates are high because they are managed by a for-profit corporate monopoly. Our electric utility, Hawaiian Electric, supplies electricity to 95% of Hawaiʻi's population and controls the entire grid. In many cases, the different parts of the grid, including generation, transmission and distribution are owned and maintained by separate entities. But not in Hawaiʻi—Hawaiian Electric owns and profits off of the entire grid.
If done well, renewable energy sources have the potential to lower our electricity rates. But we will need more than large scale solar, which is what our monopolized utility is focused on now. While Hawaiian Electric has made progress toward Hawaiʻi's 100% renewable energy goals, it has dragged its feet in places that could be directly benefiting our communities during these difficult economic times. Microgrids and residential rooftop solar is needed if we are going to reach 100% renewable affordable energy. But not everyone has access to a roof, right?
Hawaiʻi's high cost of living and low minimum wage means that almost half of Hawaiʻi's residents live in rental units—studios, rooms in larger units, apartments and houses. This majority of Hawaiʻi's population has no control over their energy sources or the implementation of energy savings measures like solar water heaters and energy efficient appliances. There are solutions to provide affordable renewable energy to tenants and apartment buildings but Hawaiʻi's utility and permitting process are holding us back...again.
Now is the time to move away from this monopoly top-down business strategy—building big fossil-fuel plants and passing the costs onto consumers—that Hawaiian Electric currently operates. This strategy has landed us with the most expensive electricity rates and knee deep in the climate crisis. It is also holding us back from moving quickly to 100% renewable energy. Its only up from here, right?
People Power: The Vision
First and foremost we need to ensure that our energy generation is safe for our communities and our environment. Energy should not come at the cost of public or natural health. This means shutting down our dirty energy sources, like the coal plant in West Oʻahu and weaning off of oil—both come at the expense of the wellness of our neighbors and climate. As we transition to clean energy, we must work alongside communities in the development of renewable energy projects and encourage microgrids and other small scale community energy projects instead of large scale windfarms or solarfarms.
Then, we need to move away from the monopoly towards a public power utility, which would ultimately improve accountability and reduce rates. Public utilities are community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities that provide reliable, affordable electricity that is safe for our neighbors and environment. Public utilities are part of the community and employ the community—diversifying our workforce and providing stable jobs closer to home. Small scale community solar provide the opportunity to those that do not have access to roofs—like renters or apartment dwellers—to have access to affordable clean energy.
At the very least, we need to decouple our utility and energy infrastructure. We need a mechanism like an independent system operator that oversees the grid, supplying energy loads based on real-time usage would ensure equal access, optimized costs for the ratepayers and fair competition.
In 2018, Hawaiʻi passed the Hawaiʻi Ratepayer Protection Act into law which establishes incentives for the electric utility to provide cheaper, renewable energy to its customers. As a for-profit corporation, Hawaiian Electric is beholden to its shareholders, not its ratepayers which has contributed to the extremely high rates that residents pay. This Ratepayer Protection Act is a step towards holding the utility accountable for providing affordable, clean energy to our community. The act is currently in front of the Public Utilities Commission for implementation and has yet to come into fruition.
The bottom line is that energy sources are a public trust resource in Hawaiʻi, just like our streams, land, water and air—and they should be cared for one and the same. Energy as a basic life necessity should not be controlled by a single corporation. Gone are the days of top-down fossil fuel wholesale energy systems—now is the time to take back our power for a brighter energy future.