• KIUC not clear on meter fees • Keep Earth healthy • Well done, Ironman Joe Kali KIUC not clear on meter fees Do you mean to tell me that back in September, KIUC announced that as of Oct. 1,
• KIUC not clear on meter fees • Keep Earth healthy • Well done, Ironman Joe Kali
KIUC not clear on meter fees
Do you mean to tell me that back in September, KIUC announced that as of Oct. 1, 2013, there would be an automatic $81 fee for member who wanted to have their smart meters removed because of serious privacy and health concerns, yet that fee had never been approved by the Public Utilities Commission? Even worse is the fact that the $81 fee was actually denied by the PUC, yet KIUC continued to tell members they would have to pay the fee even when they knew it was not approved.
The newspaper article/KIUC press release in the Garden Island on Oct. 3 did not make it clear to anyone that the announced $81 fee was no longer in effect. Apparently, it just disappeared as magically as it appeared! I wish my electric bill could disappear so easily.
But wait, the magic show is not over yet. KIUC did not submit its new request to the PUC for the $50.64 meter change out fee until Oct. 3 and requested that the PUC allow KIUC to implement these requests on Nov. 4. I know this because I emailed the PUC with my questions and that is what the PUC emailed me back — Nov. 4 is when KIUC requested an answer by. So, that should mean that even if the PUC approves the newly requested fees, which would be a bad idea for so many reasons, the fee should not be effective until Nov. 4, right? But that’s not what Jim Kelly of KIUC tells me. He says that if you request a meter now, even though the PUC hasn’t approved it, you will have to pay for the meter, if the PUC then approves it on Nov. 4, because you did not get your request in before Sept. 30 when there wasn’t even a legal authority for them to set that date in the first place. Is anyone else feeling like the KIUC magic show has ramped up to the smoke and mirrors level?
I’m no lawyer, but that sure does not sound legal and it certainly doesn’t sound ethical. Dishonestly not only diminishes the credibility of the KIUC leadership, it fosters distrust and resentment from the membership. Maybe the KIUC leadership has a tough skin, and maybe it can live with a moral compass that is slightly off kilter, but what KIUC cannot afford to live with, is expensive litigation costs from such things as a class- action lawsuit involving unfair charges to some but not all members, or lawsuits related to invasion of privacy or health damages
If the leaders of KIUC believe so firmly in the full merits of a smart meter program, then there should be no reason for KIUC to use deception (and antagonism) to achieve its goal. There should be no reason to ignore the well-educated and informed membership voices that may not sit on your board or the payroll, but have much good information and insight to offer you if you would just be willing to listen. And if you can’t then I will still be wondering what is it that you have up your sleeve?
Thank you for your prompt and appropriate attention to this matter. That means please notify the full membership immediately that if they have a smart meter they can still “take it off” for free.
Kathleen Viernes
Kapaa
Keep Earth healthy
In these times on the Garden Isle of Kauai, our GMO battle between concerned citizens and many agriculturists lead us to wonder what it means to be an agriculturist.
Today’s genetically modified organisms are certainly a far cry from the ancient Hawaiian’s idea of agriculture. All of nature was revered as Divine Creation and everything had purpose. Man would never think to insult God and Mother Nature in attempt to “improve” their masterful creation in a petri dish.
The Hawaiian Islands, originally pristine, were maintained as paradise for centuries before Captain Cook arrived with a shipload of measles in 1778. The list of contamination goes on and on till paradise became a testing ground to see how far we can go with killer sprays.
Unfortunately, in acts of pathetic denial, we find ourselves living on a poisoned planet with “human” nature totally responsible for creating and spreading the poison, from cigarette smoke to traffic exhaust to potential nuclear explosions, and now, we’ve resorted to chemical sprays supposedly for the farmer’s convenience to easily grow enough food for all, though many debate to even call the specimens food.
Fact is: we live on planet Earth. From a job for some to a profit for few, can any one of us afford to be blind to the truth? We don’t really need proof of science and doctors to tell us that as a human being, a nation, a planet, good health is our ultimate wealth and we can only be as healthy as our Earth is healthy.
Gabrielle Olivier
Kapaa
Well done, Ironman Joe Kali
To Ambassador Joe!
Congratulations, Joe.
I was Joe Kali’s scoutmaster many years ago. He was always thinking and acting “out of the box.”
He always excelled at what he planned to do. He made the best chili. He even offered to wash dishes (surprised all of us) and found a hot water dishwasher to do the job. We won’t tell where the dishwasher was located or whether it was legal. Joe was the first to find water to swim in. He was the first to swim across the Waimea River during raft races (beating my dog by a tail).
I’m proud of you Joe. The photo on page 1, Oct.13 front page of TGI depicts the great aloha spirit you have always had. You have done what only a few on Kauai have done. You have made us proud of you and Kauai.
Mahalo, Ambassador Joe.
Stu Burley
Lawai Valley
