September electric bill drops 40 cents on Oahu

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / 2011

Hawaiian Electric Co. headquarters at 900 Richards St. in Honolulu.

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The typical household electrical bill for Oahu residents in September declined 40 cents from the previous month.

Hawaiian Electric Co.’s bill for an Oahu household using 500 kilowatt-hours was $139.74, or 25.9 cents a kilowatt-hour, down from $140.14, or 26.0 cents a kilowatt-hour, in August.

Fuel prices dictate electrical bills, as HECO’s energy mix is primarily made up of oil. In 2015 HECO’s energy mix was roughly 71.1 percent oil on Oahu. HECO imports oil primarily from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The cost of electricity in the state is more than double the national average, as Hawaii residents paid an average of 30.45 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity in June. The national average was 13.22 cents in the same month, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Some electrical utility customers in Maui County saw a larger decrease in bills in September.

Maui Electric Co. customers saw bills drop about $7. The average bill for a Maui household using 500 kilowatt-hours was $138.24, or 25.7 cents a kilowatt-hour, down from $145.30, or 27.1 cents a kilowatt-hour, in August.

MECO customers on Molokai using 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity are paying an average of $129.99, or 30.1 cents a kilowatt-hour, a decrease of $4.09 compared with $134.08, or 31.1 cents a kilowatt-hour, in August.

Lanai residents using 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity are paying $145.44, or 33.9 cents a kilowatt-hour, an increase of $5.08 from the $140.36, or 32.7 cents a kilowatt-hour, they paid in August.

Bills on Lanai and Molokai are calculated based on a typical household using 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity in a month. This is due to lower energy use compared with Maui, Hawaii island and Oahu, HECO said.

HECO, MECO and Hawaii Electric Light Co. monthly bills include the cost for kilowatt-hours used, in addition to other charges.

The residential cost for HELCO customers’ September electrical bill was $171.52, or 32.0 cents a kilowatt-hour, up $11.13 from the $160.39, or 29.7 cents a kilowatt-hour, they paid in August.

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s rate increased to 31.89 cents a kilowatt-hour in September, up from 31.04 cents a kilowatt-hour in August. The typical bill for a household using 500 kilowatt-hours in September is 170.05, including a $10.58 customer base charge. In August the bill was $165.77.