• Underground utility wires Underground utility wires Alton Miyamoto, Gregg Gardiner KAUA‘I ISLAND UTILITY COOPERATIVE You may have seen the letters to the editor from two of our members, Heu‘ionalani Wyeth from Anahola and Margaret Ferguson from Kalaheo. Both have
• Underground utility wires
Underground utility wires
Alton Miyamoto, Gregg Gardiner
KAUA‘I ISLAND UTILITY COOPERATIVE
You may have seen the letters to the editor from two of our members, Heu‘ionalani Wyeth from Anahola and Margaret Ferguson from Kalaheo. Both have unselfishly suggested that we start a fund for moving the power lines underground using their KIUC patronage capitol refund checks. First, we want to say “thank you” to Ms. Wyeth and Ms. Ferguson for their letters. Member participation is necessary for a successful cooperative. It is through the involvement of the membership that KIUC is able to formulate plans and gain some direction.
Second, while this is a thoughtful idea, as a member-owned cooperative we are obligated to present the cost implications and to determine whether or not undergrounding is supported by our membership based on this information. The cost of retrofitting power lines underground is expensive. Ultimately, the KIUC Board of Directors and Leadership Team want to provide quality, reliable competitively valued service without financially overburdening our members — a balance that requires careful evaluation. We have been studying the impact of undergrounding lines: Benefits:
Beautification – We can all agree overhead lines are not beautiful. Reliability n Underground lines are protected from storms, hurricanes and high winds. Less road hazards – No poles to run into with underground lines. Less vandalism n Underground lines are far less vulnerable Drawbacks:
Cost – Conversion from overhead distribution to underground is extremely expensive. We have already paid for the overhead lines at a rough cost of $10 to $15 per foot. The cost of undergrounding distribution lines in Hawai`i is estimated to run between $50 to $160 per foot depending on voltage, number and size of conductors, the terrain and soil conditions. This brings the equivalent cost per mile of line from $264,000 to $844,800. The estimated cost of undergrounding transmission lines is $380 per foot or $2,000,000 per mile and we have over a hundred miles of transmission lines.
Transformers – All pole-mounted transformers would need to be replaced with pad mounted units at twice the cost. Undergrounding requires redundancy in cabling and creates more complex switching and control needs. Digging up the streets – 1. Inconvenience to motorists. 2. Trenching for the conduit requires large pavement repair cost.
Inspections – Visual inspections can’t be done on underground power lines. This makes maintenance much more costly, time consuming and difficult. Repair problems – Underground lines are more costly to repair than overhead lines and require far more time.
On Kaua‘i most overhead lines are in older neighborhoods. Many new residential subdivisions have underground power lines. Even if we kept all of the refund checks we sent out ($1.7 million) we could only underground approximately one mile of underground line. Currently we have approximately 975 miles of overhead distribution lines and 170 of underground distribution lines. With our electric rates already high, we must proceed very carefully. KIUC will continue to look at this issue and many others in our annual Strategic Planning. As a cooperative, we must secure member support for any major work; as a regulated utility, we must secure permission from the Public Utilities Commission. Thank you Ms. Wyeth and Ms. Ferguson for recognizing that the financial responsibility of undergrounding will ultimately rest on the shoulders of our membership.
Alton Miyamoto is the President & CEO, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative; Gregg Gardiner is the Chairman of the Board KIUC, Kaua‘I Island Utility Cooperative
