City must heed audit's advice on energy costs
As energy costs soar, it makes sense to pay closer attention to how much we spend on gas and electricity, and to cut down consumption where possible.
It's sound advice for individual consumers. It's also a key responsibility for governments, which have an special obligation to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent as efficiently as possible.
This is especially critical when facing multi-million-dollar increases in costs. The City and County of Honolulu saw its energy bill rise from $19.9 million to $28.5 million between fiscal years 2003 and 2007, a 44 percent increase. In that time, its energy use increased nearly 6 percent.
That's why the city should make a sincere effort to implement recommendations from the most recent report by the city auditor.
The report criticized the city administration for lacking a "comprehensive framework to effectively manage electricity costs and consumption."
It found that the city's conservation goal — to reduce electricity consumption by 10 percent over 10 years — isn't backed up with clear, quantifiable directions for how city agencies should achieve it.
In response, the administration points to its heavily promoted "21st Century Ahupua'a" Energy and Sustainability Task Force plan, available online at
/ahupuaa/plan.htm.
This plan outlines general goals for reducing energy consumption — such retrofitting buildings with energy-efficient equipment — with a task force to monitor progress, review reports by its working groups and issue reports of its own to the mayor.
City department heads also hold monthly meetings to discuss their energy usage.
These are important steps forward, but they hardly provide the strong, systemwide oversight the audit calls for.
The auditor rightly recognizes that task forces and broad initiatives are no substitutes for actual, verifiable administrative control, especially in such a volatile area.
In fact, rising energy costs have already adversely affected city operations.
In July, departments were ordered to trim their budgets by 2 to 3 percent — a major reason being lower gas tax revenues caused by high oil prices. It's a vicious circle: The city has expanded operations over the last five years, consuming more energy even as those costs soar — decreasing both consumption and the city's gas tax income.
Can it be more obvious that the city should have tighter control over its energy usage?
At one time the city had an energy czar. Perhaps it's time to have one again.
