Island Voices
Right choices can keep lights on
By T. Michael May
President & CEO, Hawaiian Electric Co.
The security and productivity of everyday life depend on reliable electric power. When you flip on a light switch or turn on your computer, you expect that it will work immediately.
At the Hawaiian Electric Co., we have one of the best track records in the nation for reliable service. You count on it, and we are proud to deliver it to you. This is significant particularly when you consider our geographic isolation and its many challenges.
A big part of our job in delivering reliable power is maintaining and improving the infrastructure that gets the power to you. How important is that? We all saw what happened in California when the infrastructure failed.It can happen here. But not if we can help it. We promise that we will do our job well because we know you count on us for the power you need.
That is why HECO is proposing to build a state-of-the-art pipeline to carry fuel from Campbell Industrial Park to the Waiau Power Plant. The new pipeline would be installed underground next to two existing pipelines in the State Energy Corridor, an easement authorized by the Legislature specifically for fuel transport.
We currently use Chevron pumps and pipelines to transport fuel for our Waiau and Honolulu power plants.The expiration of a long-term contract with Chevron in 2004 gives HECO an opportunity to save our customers a significant amount of money, strengthen our fuel delivery system and improve reliability and system security by building our own new line.
The new line would be less expensive over time than the older one. The costs to maintain the existing line are already high and will continue to increase, as portions of the line require replacement. Along with cost advantages for our customers, the new line would incorporate the latest technology for operational safety, reliability and flexibility.
Some might ask whether our proposal reflects a commitment to fossil fuels at the expense of turning to cleaner, renewable energy sources. Clearly, the answer is no. This is not an either-or proposition.Building a state-of-the-art pipeline does not mean we stop pursuing energy conservation or renewables.That is a false choice. Very simply, we must do both.
The new line will deliver fuel at a lower cost to existing plants that provide you power every day. It does not mean we are ignoring other options for the future.
No investment we make today, whether in the existing system or in the new technologies, precludes the other. We are very mindful of the pace of technological change in making our investments.We own a wind farm, operate a trial unit in distributed generation, transmit substantial amounts of power generated by non-fossil fuel sources and won the national Edison Award for meeting customer needs through the innovative use of electrotechnologies.
Save for places with large hydro-electric dams, HECO utilities use an average of three times as much renewable energy as Mainland electric companies. We're also national leaders in energy conservation. So the choice isn't a new pipeline vs. renewable energy.Our choice at this time is a modern pipeline at a much lower cost or keeping the existing arrangement at a much higher cost.
The employees of Hawaiian Electric Co. are your friends and your neighbors, and every day we come to work with an important goal: keeping the power on for your homes and businesses. We accept the challenges of our role; we accept that we are living in the period of change between old and new technologies; and we are committed to making the transfer from our past to our future without risking that very vital need which you enjoy every day: reliable power.
