Off the News: An electricity rate break for Oahu

Hawaiian Electric, which last year filed a request with the Public Utilities Commission to increase a base rate by 4.1%, is now seeking no increase for Oahu customers, due, in part, to a settlement with the state Consumer Advocate. The move brings a bit of relief to customers paying the nation’s highest residential rates. Had the proposal been approved, the monthly bill for a typical customer, using 500 kilowatt-hours a month, would have increased by $8.67. Every little less helps.

Also, it’s encouraging that even without the hike, HECO said it intends to push forward with efforts such as clean-energy grid improvements.

Huge budget gap calls for action

Right now, the discussion about state budget shortfalls — now widened to $2.3 billion, the Council on Revenues said last week — seems a bit unreal. Nobody knows how much more federal money will be coming to help with the pandemic downturn; nobody knows how many tourists will come back, or when.

Still, despite the lack of a panic attack among key lawmakers, this is quite the gap, especially considering the resistance to public worker pay cuts. Expect drums to be beating, loudly, for a borrowing plan.