Natural gas worthy option for Hawaii

Electricity in Hawaii costs roughly triple the national average, which is a major reason to move away from fossil fuels toward clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar energy.

While that long-term goal is sought, The Gas Co. is wisely moving forward with plans to bring natural gas to Hawaii, and the state Public Utilities Commission should approve permits and nudge utilities to welcome the company’s investment.

Synthetic natural gas and propane, made locally from derivatives of crude oil, now are distributed by The Gas Co. but are minuscule sources of energy in Hawaii.

The Gas Co. serves about 68,000 customers, providing mainly heat energy for restaurants, hotels, manufacturers and laundry companies.

The company sees several advantages for natural gas: It’s a cleaner alternative to oil, and it’s cheaper.

The price of natural gas has fallen by more than half in the past five years, while oil-produced electricity in Hawaii has gone to 34.7 cents a kilowatt-hour, compared with a national average of 11.8 cents.

Hawaii is the only state with no natural gas-fueled power plants. On the mainland, natural gas is next to coal as a primary source of electricity.

The Gas Co.’s plans are small, at least in the early stages. It will bring in small amounts of natural gas in liquid form — about 1/600th its volume in gaseous state — in refrigerated tanks inside 40-foot shipping containers, according to Jeff Kissel, the company’s president and chief executive officer.

He says the company aims to ship larger amounts to Hawaii from the mainland within five years, using custom-built tankers sized to fit Hawaii’s ports. Once landed in Hawaii, it would be "regasified."

"It can be liquefied and transported to Hawaii at a cost which The Gas Co. believes will be well below the cost of oil," Kissel told the Star-Advertiser’s Alan Yonan Jr. "Moreover, the price of natural gas is expected to remain below the cost of oil for many years to come."

Hawaiian Electric Co., the state’s largest electric utility, has not said whether it is studying the option of using natural gas. Spokesman Peter Rosegg has said HECO is weighing the cost of modifying equipment and building additional infrastructure against the potential fuel price advantages for customers.

Executives of the member-owned Kauai Island Utility Commission are excited about the opportunity, as they should be.

Hermina Morita, chairwoman of the Public Utilities Commission, says the PUC has not given HECO or Kauai Island Utility Cooperative any "formal directive" to study natural gas. However, she said the utilities "have a responsibility and duty as managers to fully investigate all alternatives to help lower ratepayer impacts."

Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz has said he considers liquefied natural gas as "a real option for us, and we’re looking at it very seriously."

In a letter to Hawaiian Electric, Gov. Neil Abercrombie asked that it "move forward with plans to include natural gas in Hawaii’s energy portfolio in the near term."

While there are many questions that need to be addressed, he added, "there’s no doubt that continuing to burn oil for the majority of our electricity is an expensive and dirty option, and we ought to aggressively pursue all realistic alternatives."

Hawaii’s utilities are rightly preparing for long-term expansion of clean energy from sources other than fossil fuels. They should be open and aggressive about the use of natural gas at least as a way to lessen prices along the way.