Public Energy Coop Explored -!!

[Kiana]

This article was in the Feb. 18 Hilo Tribune. We need to support this! It's great to see some community leaders with vision without profit/greed as motive. I didn't realize Kauai has the state’s only electric cooperative, and this group plans to study their business model.

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"What if Hawaii Island residents owned their own electric utility?

That’s the question being posed by a nonprofit group that filed on Feb. 11 a motion with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to intervene in the pending $4.3 billion sale of Hawaii Electric Light Co’s parent company, Hawaiian Electric Co. (HEI), to NextEra Energy.

The Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative is a group of Big Island community and business leaders exploring the idea of public ownership. . ."

Read the full article at:
http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...p-explored

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If this were to come to pass, how would it affect HELCO and Ormat and the rest? How does a public utility phase out the giants?

[opihikao]

Mahalo, Kiana. This is exactly what our island needs for the future. I'm so disappointed in HEI/HECO/HELCO today, which has lost the intent of a "public utility" granted to them during the days of the monarchy.

To be specific, under the rule of King David Kalakaua (*See link below for history

http://www.heco.com/heco/About-Us/Our-St...n-Electric

Sure, Kauai (KIUC) may have it's problems as a Co-op, however, nothing near the magnitude of us being under HEI/HECO/MECO/HELCO's monopoly. The positives far outweigh the negatives (we have ohana in Kaua'i and have discussed this issue at great length).

Here is an interview explaining the interest in a Co-op for this island.

A New Alternative for Hawai'i Island

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G03gBZBX3w&feature=share


One vote per meter... Well, got my vote (and my ohana). IMUA I say!

Now is the time for change, and perhaps this would be a good start. Get rid of HEI/HECO/HELCO on our island and become a truly "public owned" utility.

JMO.

[Richard Ha]

Each member gets one vote. A member is anyone who has a meter. A board of directors elected by the members direct the co op. The workers will be the same workers. They know their job and they are well trained and they work hard. The profits if any gets divided among the members in the proportion of their electricity usage. Basically, it is locally controlled by local folks and the profits stay in the community.