HECO turnout in Kane'ohe low

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

Hawaiian Electric Co. wrapped up its series of briefings on its East O'ahu Transmission Project last night, saying it has given the public an unprecedented opportunity to become involved in decision-making at the utility. But critics say the timing and location of the meetings severely limited any real participation.

The third and final briefing was held at Hawai'i Pacific University's Hawai'i Loa campus in Kane'ohe and was attended by 16 people. The two prior meetings, held in Waipahu on Monday and in Iwilei on Tuesday, drew a total of 90 participants to hear HECO's plans for an underground transmission line estimated to cost up to $122 million.

Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, said holding the meeting on consecutive nights and outside the affected areas — Palolo and McCully — made it difficult for the most concerned residents to attend.

Curtis said his main concern is that the final route does not have to be exactly what HECO now says it will be.

"I think people believe this will all be underground, but what they don't realize is that HECO can bring an all underground route to the Public Utilities Commission, and the PUC can turn around and say part of that goes overhead.

By that time, it is too late to say, 'I wanted to be part of that process,' " Curtis said.

After the Tuesday meeting at Dole Cannery, a follow-up meeting was set for July 8 to answer questions that could not be addressed before time ran out. That meeting will be at a Honolulu location yet to be determined, according to HECO.

The intent of the public meetings has been to discuss HECO's plans for one of three options:

• A 3.6-mile, 138,000-volt, underground line connecting the Kamoku substation to the Pukele substation for full backup reliability. It would cost between $110 million and $122 million and would add between $1.80 and $2 to the average monthly residential electric bill.
• A 0.9-mile, 46,000-volt, underground line in Ala Moana, McCully and Kapahulu. This would provide only partial reliability in some areas and cost $41 million. It would add 70 cents to monthly electric bills.
• A 2.8-mile, 46,000-volt, underground line also running through Honolulu — to be built only in addition to the second alternative, creating full reliability. It would add $18 million to the cost, raising the total of the two lines to $59 million and raising electric bills by an average $1 a month.

A report on the public meetings will be issued by a private consultant about Aug. 1. The company expects to select an alternative and take it to the PUC for approval by the end of the year. Studies for an environmental impact statement will be done if required by the permitting authority.

Robbie Alm, HECO senior vice president, said the company learned an important lesson after its failed Wa'ahila effort. This time the utility decided to bring in the public at a much earlier stage even though it is not required. More public hearings will be held at the PUC if an environmental impact statement is needed and when applying for building permits, he said.

"We just thought, 'What an opportunity for us to do it differently,' " Alm said. "When the three alternatives were being debated internally, we made a conscious decision to add these public meetings to help us decide which one we will move forward with."

Alm said the Wa'ahila site had already been selected when public hearings were held, and people rallied to oppose that project.

"We've got all the baggage of the past fights, and the skepticism, and we just need to work it through," he said.

Alm said the meetings are working because the company has been getting back a number of questionnaires distributed with the information packets, several people have been calling HECO's hotline to comment and others have been visiting the company's Web site and commenting by e-mail.

"We are getting good feedback. We are getting useful things," Alm said. "Some of it is what we expected, which is 'There is no need for these lines,' ... but also some feedback that will help us decide. We are getting a sense of community feeling and how important reliability is."

Mary Steiner, The Outdoor Circle's chief executive officer, said participation at the meetings may have been limited because the public relies on environmental groups like Life of the Land to look out for its interests.