Category Archives: Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

What’s Happening Offshore & What We Can Do Here

We have to be aware of what’s going on offshore and how it affects us. Check out Energy specialist Art Berman’s presentation The Shale Revolution & The Current Oil Price Collapse.

Because energy and agriculture – fuel and food – are inextricably tied together, we need solutions that utilize everybody’s contributions.

The rising cost of producing petroleum energy products impacts everything we do. It takes energy to do work and especially to get food onto our plates. Sure technology extends energy, but technology is not energy in itself.

As for food production, we need help in every way we can get it, and certainly not hindrances. As an example, banning GMOs and Roundup raises the cost of food production without alleviating any proven danger. This impacts the people who can least afford the resulting increase in food prices.

In every single thing we do, the pluses have to exceed the minuses. How can we achieve this? We can form a business model that helps us maximize value to our people. Our Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative model, with its local control, helps us adapt the quickest to future situations that we cannot anticipate now. The co-op model can also help us become more competitive with the rest of the world without leaving anyone behind.

We have a lot of positives here on the Big Island. We’ll be over the geothermal “hot spot” for 500,000 to a million years. We have great wind resources and, like everybody else, we have sunlight. Thanks to our gentle climate, we don’t need artificial heating and cooling. The Big Island is especially blessed.

The sooner we can focus on taking care of all of us, and not just a few of us, the sooner we can start preparing for the future.

We CAN do this. We must.

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Last Chance to Tell PUC You Support Hawaii Island Energy Co-op

Last reminder! The final Big Island PUC meeting is tonight. It’s at 6 p.m. at the Kealakehe High School cafeteria. Please come and support the Hawai‘i Island Energy Cooperative.

At least 250 people showed up at last night’s meeting, and the Hilo High School cafeteria was packed. It ran about two hours, and the people speaking opposed the NextEra/HEI merger by 10 to one. A great many who spoke against the merger also spoke in favor of the Hawai‘i Island Energy Co-op.

The PUC called these public listening sessions in order to hear from the public before starting its formal hearings in November. That’s when it will determine whether the sale of Hawaiian Electric to NextEra is in the best interests of Hawai‘i and the state’s energy future.

If you are on the west side of the island, please come to tonight’s Kealakehe meeting.

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Letter: Speak Out for Energy Co-op

My letter to the editor ran in today’s Hawaii Tribune-Herald:

The PUC will host “public listening sessions” to hear public opinion about the proposed NextEra/HEI merger before it starts formal hearings. Please attend and speak out for the Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative.

In our lifetime, this is probably our only chance to make such a big change to our public utility and impact future generations so positively.

Public listening sessions are today (Sept. 29) at Hilo High School and Wednesday (Sept. 30) at Kealakehe High School. Both begin at 6 p.m. in each school’s cafeteria.

Background: After the proposed NextEra/HEI merger was announced, some grassroots people put together a co-op model for the Big Island, like what Kauai has had for 12 years. We are not against either NextEra or HEI/HECO, but offer an alternative business model.

A co-op has an elected board of directors made up of local people with staggered terms, so it stays sensitive to community concerns. The co-op is motivated to keep costs low, instead of making profits for shareholders. It considers multiple energy issues — transportation and food, as well as electricity, which is why it’s called the Hawaii Island Energy Co-op.

The issue is what business model is best for an uncertain future. We are concerned about costs, losing our identity and being competitive in a changing world of finite resources.

Because high costs force us to consider energy options not on the mainland’s radar, we actually have the potential to lead the nation. Two-thirds of our economy is made up of consumer spending. Think how a money-saving energy co-op could improve the Big Island’s standard of living, and, more importantly, our grandchildren’s.

It also would teach our future generations to adapt to change, and give them a world view that, “Not no can; CAN!”

Please attend today or Wednesday and tell the PUC you support the HIEC.

Richard Ha

President, Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Letter: How “Owning the Power” Benefits Us

Here’s a Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald letter to the editor from Noelani Kalipi about how the Hawai‘i Island Energy Cooperative would benefit us here on the Big Island.

She compares it to what happens with Kaua‘i utility co-op: “On Kauai, when a resident flips the switch, their dollars flow back to the community utility — Kauai Island Utility Cooperative — which uses the money to operate the system. If KIUC has more than what it needs, those funds go back into the pockets of Kauai ratepayers.”

Noelani’s letter to the editor from Saturday’s paper:

‘Own the power’

Turning on the lights has a bigger effect beyond your home. There is a direct connection between the dollars you provide to HELCO for electricity and Wall Street. The dollars move through Hilo to Honolulu and on to shareholders — many who don’t live in Hawaii.

If the NextEra/Hawaiian Electric deal is approved by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, the dollars from your pocket will travel even farther offshore, diverted through NextEra’s headquarters in Florida, then to global investors.

On Kauai, when a resident flips the switch, their dollars flow back to the community utility — Kauai Island Utility Cooperative — which uses the money to operate the system. If KIUC has more than what it needs, those funds go back into the pockets of Kauai ratepayers.

The upcoming PUC public listening sessions Tuesday and Wednesday on Hawaii Island are an opportunity to let the commissioners know we support another option: Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative. It is a unique opportunity for all energy consumers to “own the power.”

Let the PUC know Hawaii Island wants to consider a different option to the conglomerate utility. The investor-owned utility model is not bad. However, let’s look at homegrown alternatives that allow us to turn to power sources that suit us best. Renewable, environmentally friendly and cost-effective sources.

If you come early to the listening sessions, which start at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hilo High and at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Kealakehe High, supporters of HIEC will give you an Own the Power T-shirt. The PUC needs to hear from us. 

Noelani Kalipi, Hilo

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Letter: Why Hawaii Island Energy Co-op Makes Sense

Michelle Galimba’s letter to the editor in Friday’s Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald offered a great overview of why the Hawai‘i Island Energy Cooperative makes great sense for the Big Island.

Here’s Michelle’s letter:

Support the Co-op

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative is a group of local people who want to offer an alternative path to the NextEra-HEI deal. We want to make our Hawaii Island more resilient and equitable by keeping decision-making and accountability here on our island.

We want to offer the possibility of taking responsibility for the energy future of our island communities by means of an energy cooperative that will be owned by all energy users on Hawaii Island. This is a path that already has been taken by the citizens of Kauai, and by more than 900 other communities across the United States.

We will have the opportunity to make our voices heard on the question of the ownership of the energy utility for our island at the Public Utility Commission’s public hearings at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Hilo High School cafeteria and at 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Kealakehe High School auditorium.

Let’s let the PUC know we support an energy cooperative for Hawaii Island!

Michelle Galimba, Naalehu

Please come out this Tuesday (at 6 p.m. in the Hilo High cafeteria) or Wednesday (at 6 p.m. in the Kealakehe High cafeteria) to let the PUC know that you support the Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative. Read more about why this is important.

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Own the Power: 9/29 in Hilo, 9/30 in Kona

Only 2 more days until the first PUC public listening meeting at Hilo High School, and 3 more days until the meeting at Kealakehe High. The PUC wants to know what the public thinks about the proposed NextEra/HEI merger before holding its formal hearings in late November.

Read about it here, but most importantly, please show up at one of the meetings. This is probably the last chance in our lifetime to change our public utility and impact our future generations so positively.Richard Ha Hamakua Springs

 

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Last Chance to Have Important Input: 9/29 & 9/30

I want to ask you to take a couple hours out of one evening and do something important.

This is probably, truly, the only chance in our lifetime to change our public utility and impact our future generations so positively. If you only ever do something like this once, this is the time.

The PUC wants to know what the public thinks about the proposed NextEra/HEI merger before it holds its formal hearings in late November. PUC members will be at Hilo High School on September 29th, and at Kealakehe High School on September 30th for “public listening sessions.” Both meetings will be at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria.

Please speak up at one of these meetings and support the Hawai‘i Island Energy Cooperative (HIEC). It’s important we show up in numbers and let them know this matters to us.

The first PUC public listening session was held on Maui recently, and, even though it was scheduled on Labor Day weekend, Civil Beat reports more than 200 people showed up.

Here’s some background on HIEC: After the proposed NextEra/HEI merger was announced, some grassroots people put together a co-op model to run the Big Island’s electric utility, like Kaua‘i has had for 12 years now.

Although there was no willing seller, we decided to prepare in case the opportunity arose to purchase the Big Island’s electric utility. We raised money and hired professional people to help us enter the PUC discussions and get out the word. We are not against either NextEra or HEI/HECO, but are offering an alternative business model we think is best for our children and their children’s futures.

We think the co-op business model best prepares us for a changing future. The motivation is to keep costs low, not make profits for shareholders. And because it is run by a board of local people with staggered terms, it takes into account both community concerns and local perspectives of aloha ‘aina.

A co-op considers multiple energy issues – ground transportation, fertilizer and food, as well as electricity, which is why it’s called the Hawai‘i Island Energy Co-op. We operate with a broad view.

Also, instead of just maintaining the status quo, could we actually become competitive with the rest of the world? Because high costs force us to consider energy options not on the mainland’s radar, we even have the potential to lead the nation. Two-thirds of our economy is made up of consumer spending. Think how a money-saving energy co-op could improve the Big Island’s standard of living, and, more importantly, our grandchildren’s.

It also teaches future generations to adapt to change, and gives a world view that, “Not no can; CAN!”

Officially, HIEC is “a Hawaii-registered 421C non-profit cooperative association, was formed by community and business leaders on the island to explore and promote a comprehensive approach to develop an integrated, renewable and sustainable energy strategy for the Big Island of Hawaii.” You can read more about the merits of a community-based, cooperative ownership structure for electric utility service, and see the HIEC advisory board, here. Read our frequently asked questions.

Please put one of those dates on your calendar now, attend one of the Big Island listening sessions, and let the PUC know you support the Hawai‘i Island Energy Cooperative.

  • Tuesday, 9/29   6 p.m.   Hilo High School cafeteria
  • Wednesday, 9/30 6 p.m.   Kealakehe High School cafeteria
Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative

Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative Hires Communication Team

(HILO, HAWAII, SEPTEMBER 8, 2015)—Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative (HIEC) has retained the veteran firm, Hastings & Pleadwell: A Communication Company (H&P) to do public outreach about the benefits of a utility cooperative for Hawaii Island.

For 20 years, H&P has provided communication services to clients in Hawaii and beyond, many of them concentrated in the alternative energy or technology arenas.

Barbara A. Hastings, a founding partner of the firm, has been following and writing about energy matters since the Arab Oil Embargo of the mid-1970s. She was an energy fellow in the Stanford University program for working journalists.

HIEC is in the exploratory and public education phase, seeking to inform Hawaii Island residents of the potential, and merits, of self-ownership of its local electric utility.

With the successful Kauai Island Utility Cooperative as a model, the HIEC board is exploring cooperative utility ownership for its island.

“H&P proved a good fit, given its roots on both Hawaii Island and Oahu, and its background in the energy field,” said Marco Mangelsdorf, HIEC board director and spokesman.

HIEC was founded earlier this year and is an intervener in the Public Utilities Commission proceeding reviewing the proposed sale of Hawaiian Electric Industries, including Hawaii Electric Light Co. (HELCO), to NextEra Energy of Juno Beach, Florida.

Some of the cooperative benefits HIEC wants to communicate include potentially lower energy rates over time; financial gains go directly to members, not shareholder profits; and local, democratic control of the island’s energy future.

Ashley Kierkiewicz, a Hawaii Island native, will lead part of the outreach efforts and partner Barbra Pleadwell will assist with strategy. H&P has offices in Hilo and Honolulu.

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About Hawaii Island Energy Cooperative
HIEC is a non-profit cooperative association that seeks to establish a member-owned electric utility and encourage non-petroleum-based transportation for Hawaii Island. HIEC presents a unique opportunity for all electricity consumers to “own the power.” For more information, visit www.hiec.coop. HIEC is on Facebook and Twitter @HiEnergyCoop.