Kaua'i County fighting utility sale to co-op

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The county plans to argue to the state Public Utilities Commission that the co-op hoping to buy Kaua'i Electric is offering too high a price, and will set rates too high.

In discussions with the County Council, county special counsel William Milks said the county's preliminary position is that uncertainties are far too great for the PUC to grant approval of the purchase by the Kaua'i Island Utility Co-op.

Mayor Maryanne Kusaka already has spoken in opposition to the purchase as proposed in a PUC public hearing. Milks, appearing before the County Council last week, added detail to the county's thinking.

He said a great deal of work is still required before any deal between KIUC and the utility should go through.

Milks said the sales price should be reduced from $215 million to something in the range of $160 million. A community cooperative should not pay more than an investor-owned utility such as Hawaiian Electric would pay for the power company, he said.

The co-op hopes to maintain Kaua'i Electric's existing rate structure, which Milks said is higher than justified.

The co-op is made up of its board of directors and has no members.

"Whether or not the Kaua'i community will support KIUC remains uncertain. ... The PUC is called upon to transfer the island's essential infrastructure to an untested, undercapitalized organization without broad community support," Milks said.

He argued the uncertainties make the application for approval of the transfer premature.

Kusaka emphasized that Milks' statements reflects a preliminary position.

"This is not a final document, but a work in progress. We will be interesting in hearing from the council and the community before finalizing our preliminary position statement," the mayor said.