Electric bills in October expected to drop approximately 5% or about $11 on Maui
Lower fuel prices are expected to bring down electric bills on four islands, including Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, and Hawai‘i Island, as the state sees the first significant drop in oil prices since the spring.
On Maui, the typical residential bill for electricity used in September (which will be included in bills most customers receive in October), is expected to be down 5% or about $11.
On Lāna‘i, residential bills are forecast to be down 9% or about $22; and on Moloka‘i, bills are expected to be down 14% or about $34.
Hawaiʻi Island is also forecast to see a drop of about 6% with customers paying about $16 less for electricity.
On O‘ahu, customers will see a 4% rate increase (about $9) due to the shutdown of the AES coal-fired power plant. Hawaiian Electric reports that the increase is smaller than what was forecast from the coal plant closure.
This is an improvement over the earlier forecast that projected O‘ahu bills would increase 7% or about $15 after the coal plant ends operations, which is scheduled for today. Commercial customers will see kilowatt-hour rates up about 2 cents, lower than the 3 cents forecast.
The rates for O‘ahu are the result of lower oil prices and the addition of the Clearway Mililani I 39-megawatt solar project to the grid. Its contracted price of 9 cents per kilowatt-hour is less than a third the cost of oil used for power generation.
Even with the lower rates, typical bills on all islands are still higher than in March before oil prices began to surge. Hawaiian Electric continue to offer options to help customers manage their energy bills.
Go to hawaiianelectric.com/paymentarrangement to review payment plan options. For information on available financial assistance, go to hawaiianelectric.com/COVID19. Reducing energy use is also a practical way to further reduce electric bills. Links to resources are available at hawaiianelectric.com. Hawaii Energy is an expert resource that offers rebates and practical energy conservation tips at hawaiienergy.com.