Hawaiian Electric Rates at Four-Year Low
By Maui Now Staff
Maui’s residential electric rate is at a four-year low. The island’s effective rate is 31.5 cents per kWh. A typical 600 kWh bill is $198.78, which is $21.46 lower than last month and the lowest since February 2011.
Customers of the Hawaiian Electric Companies across the state are enjoying lower electric bills due to lower fuel prices.
On Lāna‘i, the effective rate is 37.3 cents per kWh. A typical 400 kWh bill is $159.20, $10.65 lower than last month, and the lowest since November 2010.
On Moloka‘i, the effective rate is 37.7 cents per kWh. A typical 400 kWh bill is $160.75, $13.09 lower than last month, and the lowest since March 2011.
On O’ahu, the effective rate is 27.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). A typical 600 kWh bill is $177.45, a decrease of $9.77 since last month, and the lowest since March 2011.
Hawai‘i Island’s effective rate is 33.8 cents per kWh. A 600 kWh bill is $214.71; that is $12.49 lower than last month, and the lowest since October 2010.
“We are happy to pass these savings straight through to our customers,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president of customer service. “At the same time, we’ve seen oil prices drop before, only to rise again. Today’s lower oil prices must not distract us from reducing our dependency on imported oil.
“We remain committed to reaching our goal of getting 65 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2030,” he said.
The Hawaiian Electric Companies are also reducing costs to customers through efficiency improvements and pursuing cleaner, low-cost natural gas to replace oil and continuing to increase use of renewable energy.