• Let’s look at lower rates • Our ocean can be tragic • Let’s try county manager • Support leadership program Let’s look at lower rates Those aspiring to be elected to the board of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative seem
• Let’s look at lower rates
• Our ocean can be tragic
• Let’s try county manager
• Support leadership program
Let’s look at lower rates
Those aspiring to be elected to the board of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative seem to be mostly supporters of all kinds of alternate ways of generating electricity; but have they ever examined their own electric bills every month and advocated realistic ways to lower our electric rate from being among the highest in the nation (if not the highest)?
To save you from the agony of trying to figure out why we have the highest electric rate in the country — which I’m sure those aspiring to become our advocates on the KIUC board would like to swiftly find the solution for us — allow me to describe your monthly electric bill and explain, in an amateurish way (but backed up by comparisons with other utilities around the country), how our rates are not likely to decrease in any appreciable manner for a few decades yet.
Before going into comparing our electricity cost with some other localities in the country, let me ask you to examine your own KIUC bill. Where other utilities typically list the meter readings to arrive at the kilowatthour (KWH) consumed in a month and multiply that by the cost per kilowatthour (which includes the fuel cost), and then add the cost of transmission of the electric energy from the plant to your house, our KIUC bill has an extra item (under “Energy Adjustment”) which appears to be unique among electric bills. The term “Energy Adjustment,” if you examine your bills for several months, seems to be more or less the same as the KWH charge. In examining the bills from friends and relatives around the country I find no other utility includes such an item in its monthly bill. What I suspect is that this item includes the price we (presumably members of KIUC) paid for the obsolete generating plant at Port Allen and, probably the much smaller price we paid for the very modern gas turbine plant at Hanama‘ulu, which, while modern and highly efficient, unfortunately contributes only a fairly small fraction of the total KIUC output. While other utilities include the amortized cost of the generating plant in the basic kilowatthour charge, KIUC apparently has a different way to amortize the very expensive price it paid the utility in Connecticut which owned the plant originally. It would be very interesting to find out just exactly what this “Energy Adjustment” is all about, remembering that the KIUC monthly bill’s KWH charge includes the fuel cost (a common practice among all utilities).
Assuming all the utilities cited below follow generally the same accounting practices for electric utilities, let’s do some realistic comparison for the month of January 2008 (Moloka‘i is averaged):
Monthly Bill Kilowatthour Consumed $ per Kilowatthour
KIUC $205.72 492 $0.418
Molokai $152,06 481 $0.316
Altadena, Calif. $154.00 856 $0.180
Will someone knowledgeable at KIUC be willing to explain the differences?
Raymond Chuan
Hanalei
Our ocean can be tragic
How devestating it is to pick up The Garden Island and see three ocean-related tragedies in one weekend. These events wreak absolute havoc upon the families and friends of those who succumb to our not-so-Pacific Ocean.
It’s been many years since I co-chaired the Water Safety Task Force with Monty Downs, and I’ve seen huge improvements in lifeguard staffing and equipment, as well as important ocean safety info being prominently published in visitor magazines. However, Hollywood has so popularized and sugar-coated the reality of Hawai‘i’s natural forces that newcomers think they are in Disneyland.
Wake up folks: Hawai‘i has volcanos, earthquakes, flash floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, howling trade winds and the largest surf in the world. It might look like paradise, but as the families of a kayaker and a kite surfer already know, the ocean here demands respect.
My deepest sympathies go out to all those affected.
Sheila Heathcote
Kalaheo
Let’s try county manager
Harry Boranians’ opinion in his letter March 18, “Approve of cautious approach,” seems to be that the mayor system of government is better than the manager system because he has worked in a mayoral system.
Our “strong” mayoral system on Kaua‘i is broken. One only needs to look at the unsolved problems that have accumulated over the years of our mayor/council system to know that we desperately need change.
Traffic worsens daily; no adequate low income housing; proliferation of vacation rentals outside of the VDAs; over development; loss of agriculture land and open space; deteriorating infrastructure; parks and recreation areas under maintained; and the homeless people problem.
In a local government the duties of the chief executive are essentially managing the services government provides. In the mayor system, the chief executive is elected mostly because he is a recognized name and politically organized whether or not he has administrative qualifications. In the manager system the chief executive is selected because of his experience and management qualifications.
If the community is lucky and finds a competent person either system works. But as Kaua‘i’s problems demonstrate, it is far better to have someone who can successfully manage than someone whose skills are political. Isn’t it time to give the county manager system a try?
Glenn Mickens
Kapa‘a
Support leadership program
Sure, Kaua‘i is blessed with leadership talent that is second to none, yet it is in all our interests to continuously build our leadership skills and collaborative capacity.
That is why I offer this heads-up: Leadership Kaua‘i needs our help.
As this 4-year-old organization matures, it needs a broader base of generous supporters.
Mason Chock is doing an outstanding job as executive director and is working hard to fill some big holes in their operating budget.
All Kauaians who care about the quality of our island’s leadership might give serious thought to helping and committing to help each year.
Check out their impressive and expanding list of alumni at leadershipkauai.org.
Purchase tickets to their April 24 fund-raiser, or send a donation check with lots of zeros at the end.
The need is urgent and you can vote right now, with your dollars, for continuing Leadership Kaua‘i’s vital work.
Ken Stokes
Kapa‘a
