Hawai’i Gas Makes Organizational Changes To Focus on Clean Energy Goals

Hawaiʻi Gas has made organizational changes to better focus on its clean energy goals, with four leaders promoted to implement the company’s strategy to integrate sustainability into its core business operations.

The promotions:

• Kevin Nishimura, VP of Operations, now oversees the clean energy and innovation group to accelerate progress on key projects involving renewable natural gas and hydrogen and to ensure seamless integration for its customers.

• Julie Yunker has been promoted to newly created position of director of sustainability, government and community relations, and will report to CEO & President Alicia Moy. The position will centralize efforts around sustainability. She will continue to lead the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance efforts and facilitate Hawaiʻi Gas’ participation in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark framework. She is also leading Hawaiʻi Gas’ programs to support and align with the United Nations Global Compact Initiative and Hawaiʻi Gas’ participation in the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas.

• Mustafa Demirbag has been promoted to executive director of operations and now oversees all statewide utility and non-utility operations under the guidance of the VP of Operations. He has been with Hawaiʻi Gas for more than 27-years and comes with a deep expertise in many areas including sales and marketing, engineering and neighbor island operations.

• Ryan Yoshida has been promoted to Synthetic Natural Gas plant manager. The plant is the backbone for reliable gas service on Oʻahu. The future of the plant will continue to evolve as the company increases the amount of renewable natural gas and hydrogen in its pipeline, concentrating on affordable, reliable and renewable energy solutions. He has more than 20-years of experience with Hawaiʻi Gas and has an extensive background in operations and engineering.

“For several years, our clean energy and innovation team has been working hard to advance our RNG and hydrogen projects,” Moy said. “Making this team a core part of our everyday operations leverages the strength of our operations group to accelerate our progress and ensure a smooth integration with our existing infrastructure and operations.”

As a pioneer in hydrogen integration in a gas utility system since the 1970’s, Hawaiʻi Gas is leading the nation with the highest percentage in its pipeline system – up to 15% – of any gas distribution company in the country. With this distinction, Hawaiʻi Gas has become a model in the gas industry and is a key part of several studies on hydrogen.