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Maui County has set aside $30,000 to pay a consulting firm to study what utility model would be the best for the island.
The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development filed a request for proposals Tuesday seeking the costs and benefits associated with public power and energy cooperatives’ forms of electric utility ownership.
Proposals are due June 5, and the county said it plans on choosing a party by June 25 to conduct the study.
"We’re looking to try and establish a contract in this fiscal year to allocate those funds," Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said. "I’ve been looking into this for quite some time."
Arakawa said it is an ideal time for Maui to research what utility model would be best for the island as the state is reviewing the sale of Hawaiian Electric Industries, parent company of Hawaii’s largest utility, to Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc.
"We won’t really know whether we are getting a good deal or a bad deal," Arakawa said. "We need to understand what we’re trying to do and have a solid reason for the direction that we’re heading."
Arakawa has said he is considering whether to make Maui’s electrical utility publicly owned. HEI is owned by shareholders.
The study will be conducted in the county’s next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
