Mayor’s correct: Don’t rush on KE

Mayor Kusaka’s ideas about being prudent regarding the acquisition of Kaua’i

Electric by Kaua’i County or the co-op are justified.

If it were not for a

few individuals, such as Ray Chuan, Walter Lewis and Michael Edwards, to offer

their views in spite of being called nawsayers, we may have paid $100 million

over book price for Kau’i Electric. There was a lot of money spent on public

relations trying to convince everyone that the buyout was a great deal. Many

people, including myself, were initially in favor of owning our own utility

company and having a voice in our energy future. These individuals are to be

thanked for their thankless efforts to help guide and inform the masses and

encourage the Public Utilities Commission to make the proper decisions. The

commission is paid and appointed to make the proper decisions for the public.

I believe the same prudence and caution should be used to justify the

building of the new diesel Naptha plant above Hanama’ulu. I think an energy

decision of this magnitude should not be rushed, either.

In my last

article to the Forum on Nov. 29, I wrote that energy coasts would soar in the

next 10 years due to limited oil reserve. Most recently, energy bills on the

islands have spiked and can be directly related to rising oil costs. It has

been reported that Hawai’i has been able to avoid the problems that utility

companies in California are having because of a little known decision made 30

years ago by the Public Utilities Commission that allows the utility companies

to pass oil cost hikes on to the customers without any approvals. How

convenient. This situation, however, encourages the burning of oil because

there is no risk by the utility. There is no incentive for Kaua’i Electric to

explore alternative and risky renewable resources when they are guaranteed

their profit when they burn oil.

Mayor Kusaka’s dream that our rates would

go down if we bought Kaua’i Electric, I believe, is far-fetched. Our total

reliance on burning oil for our energy, as well as the plan to build another

diesel plant, dooms our fate for any future rate reductions. There is no cap on

the oil prices the electric companies can pass on to customers. The building of

the new diesel plant that will continue our total dependence on oil deserves

the same caution and prudence that the mayor recommends regarding the buyout.

The Kaua’i Renewable Energy Coalition plans to meet on Jan. 9 to plan its

agenda and formulate a plan to use Kauai’s abundant resources to fuel its

future energy needs. Call 332-8890 for more information.

PAUL

LUCAS

Lawa’i