Editor’s note: Today is the fourth article in a series of profiles on the candidates running in the KIUC board of director’s election set for March 22. The profiles will run one each day until all six candidates have been
Editor’s note: Today is the fourth article in a series of profiles on the candidates running in the KIUC board of director’s election set for March 22. The profiles will run one each day until all six candidates have been profiled. To read how candidates answered a set of questions posed by The Garden Island, go to www.kauaiworld.com
by Rachel Gehrlein – THE GARDEN ISLAND
As a member of the original Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative Board of Directors, incumbent Dennis Esaki’s vision, knowledge and passion are the three reasons, he says, to vote for him in the upcoming election.
Esaki decided to run again for a three-year term on the nine-person board because of unfinished business he wants to take care of.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” Esaki said.
“I want to see some things through while I am on the board, such as getting off our dependence on oil and becoming more sustainable.”
As a KIUC board member, Esaki was instrumental in pushing for the deletion of coal in the integrated resource plan.
“Coal should not be in the mix of fuel we plan to use in the future,” Esaki said.
One thing Esaki hopes to accomplish as a board member is seeing KIUC provide “better reliable power at reasonable, fair rates.”
Esaki feels that KIUC has made great progress since the beginning because co-op members are on the same rate schedule from 1996, and since 2002, $17 million has been refunded back to co-op members.
“We started with zero equity when the co-op started,” Esaki said. “Now we have 14.5 percent or $43 million that belongs to the members.”
But there is still a lot of work to do, Esaki said.
“An increase in demand, higher fuel prices and a demand for sustainable, renewable energy all coming together creates a perfect storm situation,” Esaki said. “Ten years ago, we didn’t have these issues.”
He also hopes to establish the use of more renewable energy sources such as water, wind and solar power.
But Esaki feels these energy sources are not without setbacks or problems.
According to Esaki, it can take many years for an energy source to get online because of construction and planning. For example, Esaki said one of the newest generators KIUC uses took approximately 10 years to get online.
“There are a lot of factors to consider with renewable energy,” Esaki said. “There is constantly new technology to deal with.”
One factor to consider before the installation of windmills, hydroelectric dams or photovoltaic systems, is figuring out some sort of system to store power, Esaki said.
Born and raised on Kaua‘i, Esaki owns Esaki Surveying & Mapping, Inc., a land-surveying and civil-engineering firm.
He was part of the original board in 2002, but left in 2004 to concentrate on business interests. Esaki was reappointed to the board in 2005 and sworn in as chair a year later.
Although Esaki has seen many changes over the years that he feels have not been good for stability, there are some highlights.
“Employee satisfaction has gone up drastically over the past few years,” Esaki said. “That helps things go smoother.”
