Hawaiian Electric Company announced today that the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has authorized the company to implement the interim rate increase for Oahu customers of 4.7 percent, or $61 million annually in net revenues, effective today.

The authorization is a follow up to the PUC’s interim decision announced last month and comes following the commission’s review of the detailed rate adjustment calculations to implement its earlier order.

The impact of the increase will vary by type of customer and actual electricity usage. A typical residential customer using 600 kilowatt-hours a month will see their monthly electric bill increase by $6.48, resulting in a total bill of $140.05.

The increase will help pay for major capital improvements and increased operating costs over the last several years, such as more frequent inspections of utility lines and poles, increased tree trimming around power lines, and increased servicing of power plants, which have been running harder and longer as power generation reserve margins have narrowed over time.

As this is an interim decision, the PUC will continue to review details of Hawaiian Electric’s full request and will later issue a final decision. Hawaiian Electric will provide additional information to assist with that review. Importantly, still outstanding is the timing of a potential increase to help pay for the cost of a new biodiesel generating unit soon to be placed in service at Campbell Industrial Park.

Hawaiian Electric’s original request, filed a year ago, was for a $97 million increase in revenues. The request has gone through extensive review by the State Division of Consumer Advocacy and the U.S. Department of Defense, who are parties in the case. Hawaiian Electric earlier reached a settlement agreement with the two on most of the issues in the case for an increase of $79.8 million, or 6.2 percent. Including unsettled items, the company’s total revised request is for $86.8 million, or 6.7 percent. The PUC will further consider the entire request before issuing its final decision. If a lower final increase is ultimately approved, the difference will be refunded to customers with interest.