A 22-percent increase in the cost per kilowatt-hour (kwh) of electricity on Kaua‘i is a good deal compared to the increase in the price of gas at local pumps, the leader of Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative said. But research by
A 22-percent increase in the cost per kilowatt-hour (kwh) of electricity on Kaua‘i is a good deal compared to the increase in the price of gas at local pumps, the leader of Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative said.
But research by The Garden Island reveals that, while the total per-kwh charge moved from just over 22 cents in August of last year to just over 27 cents last month, a 22-percent increase, the price of gas at the pumps jumped just 13 percent, from $2.21 to $2.51 during that same period.
The reason for the jump in electric bills is due to a line item on bills called the energy adjustment, or energy rate adjustment clause, which allows KIUC leaders to pass on the cost of fuel to customers, explained Alton Miyamoto, KIUC president and chief executive officer.
State Public Utilities Commission rules regarding KIUC’s tariff allow KIUC leaders to make the energy adjustment depending on what they spend on fuel to generate electricity, while still charging members (customers) a base rate (kwh charge is the line item on the bill) of around 17 cents per kwh, established in 1995.
When the kwh charge, customer charge, resource cost charge and energy adjustment are combined, some members pay over 28 cents per kwh total on June bills, and the energy adjustment is around 30 percent of the total bill.
June’s energy adjustment was the highest it has been in some time, Miyamoto said.
Electric rates on Kaua‘i are high because members are still paying for repairs due to damages to the island’s electrical distribution and transmission infrastructure done by two hurricanes, ‘Iwa in 1982 and ‘Iniki in 1992, he said.
Because of the high cost of shipping in by barge essentially everything that is consumed on the island, including fuel for power plants, and “lots of (other) things not in our control,” Miyamoto said.
KIUC leaders realize electric rates are high on Kaua‘i, and may be some of the highest in the nation. But the rates are even higher in Alaska, said Miyamoto, who just returned from that state. The per-kwh charge is around 50 cents there, but state government subsidizes electric-users there, he said.
The real story on Kaua‘i, he argued, should be the steps members have taken to reduce consumption and thereby reduce the amount they’re paying for electricity.
Kauaians are bucking a statewide trend of higher home usage, and a recent Associated Press article said a reason electric bills across the state are rising is because of increased consumption due to items like home computers, home-entertainment and air-conditioning systems.
