Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Oahu residents will see their electrical bills jump $2.44 this month primarily due to higher fuel costs.
Hawaiian Electric Co. said Monday that the typical bill in January for an Oahu household using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity is $144.26, up from $141.82 in December.
Maui Electric Co. residential customers on Maui island using 500 kilowatt-hours will see their bills increase $8.77 to $154.28 from $145.51 last month. MECO customers on Molokai using 400 kilowatt-hours will pay an average of $147.68, a decrease of $2.68 from $150.36 in December. MECO residents on Lanai using 400 kilowatt-hours will pay an average of $153.69, an increase of $4.14 from $149.55 last month.
Bills on Molokai and Lanai are calculated based on a typical household using 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity in a month. This is due to lower energy use compared with Maui, Hawaii island and Oahu, HECO said.
The average cost in January for Hawaii Electric Light Co. residential customers on the Big Island using 500 kilowatt-hours is $178.59, an increase of $3.57 from $175.02 in December.
HECO, MECO and HELCO monthly bills include the cost for kilowatt-hours used in addition to other charges.
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative reported the typical bill for a household using 500 kilowatt-hours in January is $180.43, including a $10.58 customer base charge. That is up $4.95 from $175.48 in December.
The cost of electricity in the state is more than double the national average, as Hawaii residents paid an average of 29.29 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity in October. The national average was 12.84 cents in the same month, according to the latest data available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Despite the high cost per kilowatt-hour, Hawaii ranks only 37th (with one being the highest) among the most energy-expensive states and the District of Columbia because Hawaii households don’t use as much electricity as households in some mainland states, according to a 2017 WalletHub study.
77