Hearings on HECO plans

HECO has submitted their Distributed Generation Interconnection Plan (DGIP) and Power Supply Improvement Plan (PSIP). They are woefully inadequate. Soon the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission will hold public hearings to which you can submit written and oral testimony. Check here for dates, or sign up below and we will notify you when dates are set for those hearings.

Here is one comment on the DGIP, submitted during the initial comment period:
Retrofitting for LNG [Liquified Natural Gas] seems a complete waste of time and money when we have so many renewables ready to generate or already generating power here that MECO is curtailing wind energy production. We should be storing the excess power, ASAP. LNG also carries great long-term environmental and health costs, despite its lower immediate dollar cost.

An increased minimum monthly bill for PV [photovoltaic] customers seems fair (I am one), as does an initial interconnection fee, as long as it reflects HECO’s true interconnection costs. The far lower rate for bought-back energy seems extreme, given that they pay nothing for the equipment, installation and maintenance to provide that energy.

Our world is in unprecedented danger from global warming. Hawaii is in a unique position in many ways to not just lower our electric bills, but to set an example for the country and the world. Please insist that HECO maximize every opportunity to do so.

Here is one comment on the PSIP, submitted during the initial comment period:
I have noted with interest the various analyses of HECO’s new plan. It appears very self-protective and timid.

The apparent lack of any far-sighted business model is worrisome, and strongly feeds the perception that HECO is very resistant to change, whatever their rhetoric.

The plan allows more rooftop solar, but at about 7% annual growth, it’s a very far cry from the 100% growth we saw in each of the past five years. I have seen no justification for such a gigantic slowdown, beyond vague “concerns” about safety and reliability. They do plan to upgrade grid equipment to accommodate that growth, and I hope they start with the 4,500 people who’ve been waiting up to a year for HECO’s approval. Why can HECO not hire more people to expedite these approvals and those to come?

HECO’s support for community solar, microgrids and “demand response” programs is laudable, but it’s hard to see these programs as “energy services.” Designing, installing and maintaining PV and battery systems are more like “services,” and it’s too bad HECO is not planning to diversify by offering them.

I welcome their open planning process so we know how much more solar can be added each year. A smarter grid will help, and 65% renewables by 2030 sounds encouraging, but it could be much higher, much sooner.