Heco raising rates again

[JerryCarr]

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Originally posted by macuu222

Looks like another electric increase on the horizon.

http://starbulletin.com/2008/05/06/news/story02.html

We already have the highest kilowatt/hr prices on the planet. It's amazing how Hawaii has all the means to produce power other than by oil (wind, solar, geothermal, hydro) and yet we still pay through the nose.

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State utility regulations in Hawaii guarantee producers of renewable electricity the same price as oil-based production. This is supposedly to provide incentives to get people to invest in alternative energy sources, but has the effect of guaranteeing consumers no rate relief even if it only costs half as much to produce. There is even a case (on Maui, I believe) where the HECO affiliate is balking at accepting the output from a new windfarm, citing lack of need for the capacity and lack of desire to make the changes to the grid necessary to accept it.

Obviously something needs to be done, such as guaranteeing alternative energy producers a decent margin over their documented costs. This is basically the same deal the HECO affiliates now get. I think state law guarantees HECO a profit no matter how badly they manage their business or how much they discourage competition.

Cheers,
Jerry