Hawaii Electric Light Co. says in its latest filing to the state Public Utilities Commission that it can achieve the state’s goal of 100 percent renewable energy, possibly even before the state-mandated deadline of 2045. ADVERTISING Hawaii Electric Light Co.
Hawaii Electric Light Co. says in its latest filing to the state Public Utilities Commission that it can achieve the state’s goal of 100 percent renewable energy, possibly even before the state-mandated deadline of 2045.
Company officials met with the Tribune-Herald earlier this month to discuss its power supply improvement plan and address feedback from companies and organizations with a stake in the future of electricity.
Whenever Hawaii power companies want to raise customer rates or take some other kind of significant action, by law, they must seek permission to do so by filing an application with the PUC.
Power companies are subject to government oversight because they do not face competition like most businesses, and their plans are reviewed to make sure they are safe, reasonable, reliable, adequate, in the best interest of consumers and keep rates low.
HELCO’s power supply improvement plan, or PSIP, contains more than 1,700 pages — and that’s just the appendices.
“To come up with a plan, and come up with a power system, it’s complex,” said company President Jay Ignacio. “And part of the challenge is putting everything together and to see where it fits.”
HELCO used computer modeling and real-world examples to determine which renewable energy options make the most sense to rely on in the near-term. The goal is to scale up and continue reaching toward a 100 percent renewable energy supply.
“We have taken much input from many parties,” Ignacio said. “Not everyone will agree or like the end product.” But, he said, it’s a plan he thinks the company can accomplish, with room to adjust if new technologies or changes in demand occur.
The PSIP notes that Molokai will hit 100 percent renewable energy by 2020 and will be used as a learning tool for expanding renewable energy use on the Big Island and elsewhere in the state.
Todd Kanja, general manager of system planning, said HELCO and its partners looked at emerging technologies such as ocean wave-generated power, which the PSIP says eventually could provide enough energy for the entire world’s population needs.
“We definitely are interested in all technologies,” Kanja said. “We want to keep our plans flexible or have room as new technologies come about.”
Many other forms of renewable energy production are under study, Ignacio said.
He said HELCO reached 48 percent renewable in 2015 and 54 percent in 2016.
“You can see that it’s progressing, leading the state, actually, Hawaii Island,” he said. “We’re very aggressive in our action plans. I recognize that. And I support that in our action plans. I know that it’s very aggressive. But I don’t want us to back off of it.”
Ignacio said he’d rather come up short a little, he said, and still meet the state’s goals than to falter. And, if the plans succeed in reaching 100 percent renewable by 2040, so much the better.
To meet the state’s 2045 deadline, Ignacio emphasized that the power companies will need the collaboration of regulators, renewable-energy producers and consumers.
When a wind producer wants to start a farm, for example, “you’re going to have to have the support of the communities, regulators, government agencies that need to work with and support you,” he said. “It’s not just the utility alone executing this plan.”
Ignacio said one of HELCO’s goals is “to look at plans that make (energy) affordable for our customers.”
Many have submitted comments about the latest PSIP.
“The feedback that we’ve gotten has been the most favorable of all the ones we’ve done in the past,” Ignacio said.
“At some point we need an approved plan,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean now we’re just wedded to the plan and not willing to take any feedback.”
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
