State's electric bill on the rise

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

The Lingle administration says it needs an emergency appropriation of $3 million this year, as well as $3 million in each of the next two years, to pay for a steep increase in the state government's electricity bills.

Those buildings include the State Capitol and Kalanimoku Building, but not public schools or the University of Hawai'i, which pay their own electricity bills.

State Comptroller Russ Saito told lawmakers yesterday at a meeting of the Senate Transportation and Government Operations Committee that the state's electricity costs have gone up as fuel oil costs have risen. DAGS officials say oil prices worldwide went from $30 a barrel to $44 a barrel between November 2003 and October 2004, and may stay around the $50 range this year.

Meanwhile, Saito said, the amount appropriated to pay the electricity bills has lagged. For instance, while O'ahu's aggregate electric bill will cost about $1.6 million more than the $4.8 million appropriated for 2005, about $800,00 more is being sought to address previous years' shortfalls, he said. The remaining $600,000 is needed for Neighbor Island bills.

Saito stressed that the state has lowered its electricity bills by implementing energy-efficiency policies. The retrofitting of lighting fixtures in downtown Honolulu buildings has reduced electricity use there by about 8 percent, he said. It has also shortened air conditioning hours and begun collecting reimbursements from agencies that cool beyond regular hours. The move of Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs offices from the Kamamalu Building to the King Kalakaua Building has resulted in an average $4,000 savings each month, he said.

A six-year look at O'ahu's electricity numbers show consumption and billing amounts dropping between fiscal years 2003 and 2004. Saito said increases in 2001 and 2002 were attributed to the state picking up the electricity costs for two buildings new to the DAGS' inventory.

Asked after the meeting why budget appropriations have not kept up with electricity bills, Saito said, "When you submit a budget, you submit it for what you can afford, and we assumed we could keep it flat, at least the last few years."

Activist Kat Brady opposed the additional money, saying the state has not done enough to reduce its dependence on oil.

"Hawai'i has every resource known to become energy self-sufficient, yet we are the most oil-dependent state in the nation," she said.

Lynne T. Unemori, director of corporate communications for Hawaiian Electric, said the electricity bill for HECO's average commercial customer went up about 7 percent in 2004 as a result of higher fuel costs. She said she could not explain why the state is projecting higher increases but promised that HECO officials would sit down with state officials to discuss the differences in their calculations.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.