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pahoated, mahalo for the information. Also wrote the PUC a while ago, same basic results. Good thoughts again. Thanks.
gypsy69, didn't intend to rehash the health issues, but understand your concern. Trying to deal with cost, as tenants pay low rent already! [xx(]
Now the question is, can the County provide the discount to surrounding residents (500kw @.45 kwhr = $225.00) per month, and deal with HELCO directly no matter what Puna's source is (oil or geothermal)?
In essence, we have to pressure HEI/HECO/HELCO and the County, State, etc., to bring the price down. After all, the County of Hawaii as a whole is the "host" to geothermal, why not set the pace for a different way to do business for all alternate energy permits and contracts? The Council can play a role in this if they so choose. Home rule = change the law(s).
There is more than one way to skin a cat. JMO.
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HELCO keeps pushing back on grid-tie PV installations because "there isn't capacity".
We're supposed to believe that this problem somehow doesn't exist for geothermal?
Or is HELCO magically willing to upgrade the grid for PGV, but not for grid-tie solar?
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Talk about timely article re; Cost - (Bold part by me)
Didn't know that the State of Alaska subsidizes electric bills. Wonder why? More homework. JMO.
http://www.civilbeat.com/fact_checks/2014/02/10/21135-fact-check-harris-hawaii-electric-rates-are-up-50-percent-since-2009/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fact_checks
FYI:
FACT CHECK — Harris: Hawaii Electric Rates Are Up 50 Percent Since 2009
It’s no secret that electricity in Hawaii is expensive.
But Robert Harris, the executive director of the Sierra Club’s Hawaii Chapter, raised eyebrows when he spoke at a Feb. 4 hearing at the Legislature.
"Since 2009, the average electric rate has gone up 50 percent in Hawaii; the business model needs to be examined," Harris said.
Has the electric rate really gone up that much?
Harris got the figure from the Hawaiian Electric Industries 2012 Annual Report to Shareholders. That report says that in 2009 the average revenue per kilowatt hour (kwh) sold for residential use was 23.87 cents, and by 2012 it was 36.88 cents. That is an increase of 54 percent.
In 2013 the average price was 37.27, a 56 percent increase since 2009.
The report also showed the average revenue per kwh sold for commercial use was 21.54 cents in 2009 and that it rose to 34.51 by 2012, an increase of 60 percent.
Hawaii generally has the highest electric rates in the nation (some pockets of rural Alaska are higher but the state subsidizes the bills), nearly double the next highest state, New York, according to the Energy Information Agency’s latest information, from last year.
Hawaii’s average retail price of electricity in the residential sector was 37.27 cents per kwh, meaning a typical Hawaii resident using 600 kilowatt-hours of energy per month would have to pay around $222, contributing to why the cost of living in the state is so high.
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quote:
"Since 2009, the average electric rate has gone up 50 percent in Hawaii; the business model needs to be examined," Harris said.
Again with focusing on the wrong end: HELCO's business model is clearly
to guarantee revenue for shareholders, but people are still mistaking it for a "utility company" that "provides electricity".
Punchline? Believing that "off-grid" alternatives are "expensive".
I thought I would try the pro and cons to this?: PUNA'S pro's and cons. not the states pro's and cons here, someone else try?.
CONS- 1) Air pollution 2) noise pollution 3) lower home values 4) health impacts both mentally and physically 5) one of the highest electricity rates 6) current and future WATER problems, overuses of Puna precious water?? 7) scent and instinct disorders 8) extra pressure on, and use of county resources (fire and hazmat) 9) Added grid problems 10) long use of good land and water for ?? 11) ECT.. ECT..
PRO'S- 1) jobs?? 2) donations?? 3) relocations?? 4) reduces Hawaii's use of oil?? 5) Gains knowledge of volcano?? 6)Opportunity to invest $$ in PV 7) ECT.. ECT.. HELP. P.S Does it help or hurt other off grid alternatives??
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Anyone have the actual production cost per megawatt produced at PGV compared to megawatt production through the other electrical production methods - Petroleum, Coal, Wind?
PGF 338 Lapua - Practice means well regulated.