Hilo
Fueled by confusion
Seems to me, we are on the horns of a dilemma. All of the politicians, state and local, have been saying for the last decade or so that we must be energy self-sufficient, especially in Hawaii. We have been inundated with ideas, from solar power for hot water to photovoltaic applications for our homes and businesses. Then we are told we must look to geothermal and wind power to feed our electric grid.
Our monthly bills show base fuel usage, surcharges and energy cost. Hell, I can’t begin to figure it out. So, like most of us, I pay the bill monthly and wish I could afford to purchase the solar panels for producing my own power.
Now the good folks at HELCO have figured out that the more the government and utility companies promote energy independence and alternative sources (other than HELCO), they are now losing money. So, like any good company, they raise rates so the can make a profit in accordance with what they want.
Well, I am so confused. What is it we want? Alternative, green energy or do we want HELCO oil- and coal-fired energy?
Seems to me that if these types of energy were cost-effective, the power companies should be the ones to develop them. In the short run, they would have large start-up costs; in the long run, they would save as they would be using solar, wind or geothermal and any combo of them, so we could do away with some of the charges we face every month.
Never mind. I just woke up … all that would do is allow them to raise the rates so that the level of profits remain the same. Sorry, what was I thinking. I must be overwrought with the “bag ban” and the mayor’s Honolulu money.
Kevin Bradley
Hawaiian Paradise Park
HELCO’s flip-flop
I take exception to the claim the solar owners should take the blame for HELCO raising our electric rates again (Tribune-Herald, Feb. 8). There are several falsehoods in the article.
First, other electric customers do not subsidize solar users. We install solar systems at our own cost and in fact do pay a monthly billing fee, regardless if we use any electricity from HELCO. Also, excess electricity that is generated from solar systems goes back into HELCO’s grid to support other customers. This is during the day when the usage is highest when people are working and businesses are running. This saves HELCO from the costs of increased generation (new and bigger generators).
Hermina Morita should remember the “public” in Public Utilities Commission and not speak as a lobbyist for the privately owned electric company. It is ironic that while we are subjected to all the expensive electric company PR about how we should be energy self-sufficient, as soon as their shareholder profits go down they are quick to raise rates and blame the very people who are doing their part to really become energy self-sufficient.
Patty Moriyasu
Hilo
Safety overkill
What is the point of a body-scanning X-ray machine (a “healthy” dose of radiation) at the airport if a TSA agent still performs a random pat-down or, in my case, a random groping?
It is against the law in many states to randomly ask for IDs from illegal aliens, or to make people show IDs at a voting booth. Oh, but, it’s OK to randomly grope a person without probable cause. I personally feel very violated when groped by another woman. Ugh!
In my opinion, TSA is just another government agency that puts more people at the publicly funded feeding trough. It’s time to reconsider their effectiveness. Metal detectors, profiling and bomb-sniffing dogs probably work just as well.
I don’t even get this kind of treatment at the largest international airports around the world. But I do at the Hilo airport, when I’m just going to Oahu. That’s total overkill!
Janet Luh
Keaau
What vog task force?
Last year, it was with much heralded front-page coverage that state Rep. Bob “I am obsessed with vog” Herkes persuaded Gov. Abercrombie to allow him to create a “task force” to study the effects of vog. This is despite the fact that a previous such task force had failed to meet regularly and come up with any significant findings.
It is customary for such committees to meet on a quarterly basis, at least. Additionally, in Hawaii it is not unusual for such committees to find a rationale to travel to Oahu (currently $270 round-trip per person) at taxpayers’ expense, now and then.
I would be interested in knowing if this task force has held any meetings and, if so, whether they discovered something that we do not already know about the effects of vog?
Pradeepta Chowdhury
Hilo