Vote retains Kauai energy meter fees

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative voted to keep fees that are charged to customers who don’t want to use the company’s wireless smart meter to measure their energy usage.

The fee is $10.27 a month for customers who don’t want to use the smart meter.

Of the 10,901 ballots cast, 74 percent of KIUC members voted to keep the fees, while 26 percent opposed, the utility announced Saturday.

"The record voter turnout along with the big margin for ‘yes’ votes suggests that the vast majority of members were engaged, understood what was at stake and wanted to send a clear message that they supported the board’s decision to charge the fees," Allan Smith, chairman of the KIUC board of directors, said in a statement. "We’re grateful for that support and we thank the members on both sides of the issue who took the time to vote."

The Public Utilities Commission approved the charge in November. The charge covers the cost of manually reading the meters.

Smart meters allow the utility to remotely read a customer’s energy usage data and connect and disconnect service.

Optimism postpones retirement plans

People who expect to live into their 70s and 80s are likelier than previous generations to delay retirement, according to a new study.

Americans who think they’ll live to at least 75 are more apt to remain in the workforce compared with those in the past with shorter expected life spans, according to the report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

There is "a statistically significant relationship between an individual’s subjective life expectancy and his expectations of when he’ll retire," according to the study. "As individuals become more optimistic about living to ages 75 or 85, they push out their planned retirement dates and increase their expectations about working" longer in life.

The willingness to delay retirement is sparked by two forces: people’s expected need for money in later years and the belief that they’ll be healthy enough to remain in the workforce.

TOTAL RECALL

Flushmate, the maker of a high-pressure flushing system sold at Home Depot and Lowe’s, is expanding its recall of the parts because they can burst near a seam with force enough to shatter the toilet tank. The company is recalling 351,000 units in the U.S. and about 9,400 units in Canada of the Series 503 Flushmate 111 Pressure Assist flushing systems installed inside toilet tanks that were made from March 2008 through June 2009. The move expands upon a June 2012 recall of the same systems made from October 1997 through February 2008. The consumer agency says consumers should immediately stop using the recalled system, turn off the water supply to the unit, flush the toilet to release the internal pressure and contact the firm to request a free repair kit. Visit 1.usa.gov/1aNsljp.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR

KALAELOA BARBERS POINT HARBOR