The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative hosted a forum for prospective board members Tuesday night at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall. The event, which lasted little more than an hour, offered yet another chance for candidates to distinguish themselves as
The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative hosted a forum for prospective board members Tuesday night at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall.
The event, which lasted little more than an hour, offered yet another chance for candidates to distinguish themselves as the election nears.
Five of the six men vying for the three open seats on the board of directors attended; Ken Stokes was absent due to illness.
The brief seven-minute presentations followed by mingling skimmed the surface of the many issues faced by Kaua‘i’s utility co-op.
The incumbents — Chair Dennis Esaki, Vice Chair Peter Yukimura and Treasurer Phil Tacbian — shared a similar message and presentation style: All talked about their experience and community involvement, and all said high rates are directly attributable to fuel prices, not co-op business practices.
While Ellis and Sullivan, who qualified to run via member petition, expressed markedly different visions for the co-op’s future, their speeches shared a desire to change its current direction.
Ellis’ platform boils down to cheaper rates even if that means less emphasis on renewable energy generation — which stands in contrast to the other candidates who have embraced the move away from fossil fuels to varying degrees.
“It’s obscene that a community-owned utility such as ours has the highest rates (in the state),” he said.
The retired Navy commander, who served two terms on a co-op board in Alaska, also said he will push for a lifeline rate for the fixed-income population.
Yukimua followed-up on Ellis’ speech about rates, saying the co-op has returned $60 million in patronage capital and member equity since 2002. And he emphasized the decade-plus without a rate change.
In fact, the utility last raised its base rate, which covers the cost of doing business, in 1996 when it was a private company and not a member-owned co-op. Since then, KIUC has accounted for rising fuel costs by charging an energy adjustment that increases accordingly.
Of the five candidates present at the forum, Sullivan placed the most emphasis on the need to reduce the co-op’s and island’s dependence on fossil fuels, which he called a liability.
He characterized the current situation as an emergency because “we do not control it, we can’t predict it and there are dire consequences if we don’t take action to fix it.”
His solution is to move toward green energy at a faster pace, in spite of the cost.
“We can invest (in renewables) more vigorously now or do it incrementally over 20 years and watch as (the goal) gets further out of reach,” he said.
The renewable energy advocate was also the only candidate to bring up community involvement. He said it’s critical for members to know where the board members stand individually — not just collectively — on issues, and to have a way to participate in the dialogue.
Tacbian, on the other hand, said the most important relationship for the board is the one with KIUC staff. He also stressed the importance of government relations and pointed to his years of experience working with the local, state and federal levels of government.
Following the forum, Tacbian said renewables are just not as reliable as diesel fuel, and the co-op has to be able to keep the lights on.
“I don’t know if we can have 100 percent green,” he said.
As for renewable options, Tacbian said he’d like to expand the hydro generation on-island. He has also expressed an interest in harnessing wave power, but said Kaua‘i’s small co-op can’t afford to experiment on its own.
Sullivan said renewable technologies are not always as reliable or viable as they first appear to be, and should be subjected to more scrutiny.
Similarly, he suggested that the co-op re-examine it’s use of power purchase agreements, which commission developers to build energy plants and sell the power back to the co-op.
“We give (the power) to the developer to sell to us at pennies below oil,” he said.
Yukimura, who is also critical of the purchase agreements, identified with member concerns about rates by pointing to his rising energy bill at Koa Trading Co., where he serves as president. As a result, he is installing a 50 kilowatt photovoltaic system to lower costs.
“We’re all in it together,” he said.
His advice to members who want smaller bills: Cut your consumption.
Esaki followed with a similar message of conservation as the short-term solution.
He said the strategic plan passed last fall calling for 50 percent renewables by 2023 is progressive, and “when we reach it, we’ll do more.”
He suggested the co-op pick “low-hanging fruit” now and make improvements that can be accomplished quickly.
Esaki said the co-op has no choice but to pay for fuel; and while alternatives such as wind, solar, biomass and the likes have been explored, there’s no one perfect solution. Nevertheless, he said within three years the co-op should have solar and wind generation.
As for using patronage capital to fund renewable projects, Esaki said he instead supports clean renewable energy bonds to the same end.
Ballots sent out to the co-op’s 23,000 members must be returned to KIUC by noon on March 22.
