Oahu customers will see the lowest electrical bills in two years this month, with a typical household paying about $6 less than in November due to cutbacks in fuel prices.
The bill for a typical customer using 600 kilowatt-hours will be $197.32 in December, down $6.47 from November, according to Hawaiian Electric Co., the state’s largest utility provider with service to Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island.
ISLE ELECTRICAL BILLS
A typical December electric bill and percent change from November for Hawaii’s utilities:
Oahu
$197.32
-3.17%
Maui
$226.39
-2.20%
Hawaii island
$236.55
-4.24%
Kauai
$217.86
-3.91%
Source: Hawaiian Electric Co., Kauai Island Utility Cooperative
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This month marks the first time since May 2012 that the bill has dropped below $200 and will be the lowest Oahu has seen since residents paid an average $195.50 in December 2012.
"Most of the present fall in Oahu electric bills is due to less expensive fuel," said Peter Rosegg, HECO spokesman. "A typical Oahu bill has dropped by almost $22 since September. Our goal continues to be lowering electric bills by adding renewable energy, with our commitment to 65 percent renewable energy by 2030. And we plan to use lower-priced, cleaner natural gas to replace imported oil, which remains volatile in price."
Hawaii’s electricity price is nearly three times the national average, mostly because of the high cost of fuel oil used to generate power.
Isle residents paid an average of 38.12 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity in September compared with the national average of 12.94 cents, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Bettelynn Smith, an Aiea resident, said she was happy to see the continued drop in prices. "I think it’s great. It’s about time," Smith said. "Let’s keep it down."
HECO, its sister utilities in Hawaii and Maui counties, and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative adjust their rates monthly to reflect changes in their fuel costs and the prices they pay for electricity purchased from independent power producers.
HECO gets the majority of its electrical power from oil imported mainly from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The price of oil has fallen by almost half over the past six months.
On Wednesday, the price of a barrel of oil rose 54 cents to close at $56.47 a barrel, down from a summer high of $107. The price of oil is lower than in the spring of 2009, during the recession.
Peter Lum, a Nuuanu resident, said he was surprised when he got the last bill and is hopeful that prices will continue to decrease.
"I just went down and paid the bill. The first time it was around $300 and now it was $193. So I was happy with that," Lum said. "Now if only we can get it to stay that way."
On Oahu, the December rate fell to 31.2 cents per kilowatt-hour from 32.5 cents a kilowatt-hour in November, when the typical bill was $203.79.
Hawaii island and Maui residents also will see a decrease in their bills in December. Maui Electric Co. customers using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity will pay $226.39, down from $231.48 in November. Hawaii Electric Light Co.’s residential rate on Hawaii island decreased to 37.7 cents a kilowatt-hour from 39.4 cents a kilowatt-hour in November. The bill for a household using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity is $236.55, down from $247.03.
Hawaiian Electric Co. has more than 450,000 residential and commercial customers — 300,000 on Oahu, 70,000 on Maui and 80,000 on Hawaii island. KIUC is a member-owned cooperative that serves 33,000 customers. On Kauai, the rate this month is 36.31 cents a kilowatt-hour compared with 37.8 cents in November. The bill for a household using 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity is $217.86, down from $226.72.
The average HECO bill includes taxes and service fees while the Kauai number is calculated only on the base electricity rate.
Average monthly usage varies by island, but the 600-kilowatt-hour number is used to make comparisons.
