Core changes needed at HEI

The state office that concerns itself most with Hawaii’s energy issues has added its firm voice to the growing chorus calling for more structural change in how Hawaiian Electric Co. does business.

In comments filed last week with the state Public Utilities Commission, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism concluded that the Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) Power Supply Improvement Plans fail to show "the strategic focus needed to advance the state’s energy policies."

Instead, according to DBEDT, the plans "appear to be designed to elevate the HEI Companies’ interests above the public interest," and the PUC must press for a better formula for achieving the state’s clean-energy goals.

We couldn’t agree more.

The plans represent the utility’s second attempt to chart a new course for advancing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative and meeting other objectives. In April the PUC rejected HEI’s Integrated Resource Plan submission, seeking ways to align its business model with "customers’ changing expectations and state energy policy."

It’s not to say that HECO hasn’t changed some of its tune in response to the criticism. The improvement plans do lay out a means for boosting the accommodation for clean energy on the grid, promising to triple the amount of solar energy and cutting customer bills.

But as long as Hawaiian Electric continues to put money in its own generation of power as opposed to becoming much more oriented around power distribution, it’s hard to see how things will change fundamentally.

Late in September, HECO announced the installation of "smart meters" in several Oahu neighborhoods. The meters give customers access to data to help them manage their electricity use. They are considered an initial phase in the transition to smart-grid technology, through which remote system controls can make the grid more responsive to changes.

A more robust grid is essential to accommodating the ebb and flow of intermittent solar and wind power, and HECO should be moving faster in this direction. The limitations of the current system in managing such fluctuations have slowed or stopped approvals for photovoltaic hookups in some areas.

The frustration of some homeowners who haven’t been approved has fueled a response by a private industry eager to bridge the gap. Some companies are working on giving customers options to buy solar systems linked to batteries. Their aim is to serve clients who have waited up to nine months for approval and worry that they’ll lose access to tax credits if they don’t find a way to act.

That level of frustration hasn’t been assuaged, either, by aspects of the Power Supply Improvement Plan. For example, the savings PV homeowners get by selling back unused power to the utility would be curtailed under the proposed reformulation, and these customers also would pay a higher fee for connection to the grid.

As the state DBEDT observed, this seems to be the strategic planning of a company more interested in covering its bases.

What’s needed is a plan focused on becoming a utility geared for the 21st-century needs of customers weary of exorbitant fuel costs in an environment rich with renewable energy.

Of course, there are costs of living here — real-estate and shipping expenses, for example — that are bound up in island living. But there should be a clearer path to tapping more of the resources Hawaii does have in abundance. The PUC should be well equipped by the state’s report to demand just that from the electric company.