Billionaire Larry Ellison is looking to buy more of Lanai.

The tech industry titan, who already owns 98% of the former Pineapple Isle, wants to buy Lanai’s power plant and grid from the state’s largest utility company, Hawaiian Electric.

The utility disclosed the interest publicly Monday and described it as “exploratory talks” in a preliminary stage.

Ellison’s firm Pulama Lanai said in a statement that it is investigating the potential purchase as a way to achieve a quicker transition from oil-based power toward 100% renewable energy in phases that also result in lower electricity bills for the roughly 3,000 residents on the island, who often pay more for electricity than all or nearly all other Hawaii residents.

In December the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity was 41.1 cents on Lanai. That compared with 27.1 cents on Oahu, 30.3 cents on Maui, 33.4 cents on Kauai, 33.8 cents on Hawaii island and 34.8 cents on Molokai, according to Hawaiian Electric.

Pulama said its effort would include discussions with Lanai residents and other groups. Any purchase would be subject to agreement with Hawaiian Electric and approval from the state Public Utilities Commission. The PUC regulates electrical rates and would hold a public hearing on such a transaction that also would be analyzed by the state Consumer Advocate.

If a sale is made, it would return control of power production on Hawaii’s sixth- largest island to an entity already controlling most of the economic activity and job base there.

For much of Lanai’s history during 70 years as a pineapple plantation, affiliates of Dole Food Co. and sister firm Castle &Cooke Inc. owned and operated the power plant as part of the plantation, which also included most of the housing on the island.

That changed in 1988 when Castle &Cooke made a deal to sell its electrical utility on Lanai to Hawaiian Electric as it prepared to cease pineapple production and develop two luxury resorts along with a pair of golf courses and vacation home subdivisions.

At the time, Dole ran the utility with six employees, and much new infrastructure was needed to service the planned resorts developed by Castle &Cooke.

Hawaiian Electric at the time said there was the potential to reduce rates for customers, and a Castle &Cooke official said Hawaiian Electric was in a better position to provide consistent and professional service.

“We were in the power business by default,” Robert Oda, a Castle &Cooke official, told The Honolulu Advertiser in 1988 before the sale was completed. “We had to have power for our (water) pumps, and there was no one else to provide the service to the residents.”

Hawaiian Electric built a new power plant on the island, and the resorts were developed as pineapple farming ceased.

Now Lanai is in the midst of another shift.

Ellison, co-founder of software giant Oracle Corp., bought 98% of the island from Castle &Cooke’s billionaire owner David Murdock in 2012 for around $300 million. Since then Ellison has laid out a plan to make the island more sustainable both in terms of the economy and environment.

Ellison’s plans include tripling the size of Lanai City to accommodate more housing, a university campus, film studios and a tennis academy. So far, Ellison already has spent $150 million to renovate the two luxury hotels on the island. He also is building a hydroponic greenhouse farm complex that is soon slated to sell its first produce, is seeking regulatory approvals to establish a $340 million industrial park covering 200 acres, and envisions expanding Lanai’s airport and adding 105 acres of primarily residential development mauka of the Manele resort area along the island’s southern shore.

Such development will require further investment in electricity infrastructure.

Pulama said an initial goal with owning the utility includes creating micro- grids for the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele and the Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Koele, a Sensei Retreat.

“Businesses around the world are recognizing that they have a responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint and are using micro grids to become models for sustainability,” Pulama said. “We believe the same can be done on Lanai.”

Pulama also said that it has worked in recent years to improve Lanai’s water system, recycling and natural resources.

“Our journey towards 100% sustainability now leads us to investigate the potential benefits of owning the grid,” the company said. “We are by far its largest customer and have a vested interest in building a modernized grid that will speed Lanai’s progress towards being energy independent.”

One thing Pulama officials have previously ruled out is a wind farm to supply power to the island and neighbor islands. Murdock had pursued such a project that was met with fierce community opposition on Lanai.

Hawaiian Electric, which has 12 employees on Lanai, said Pulama initiated talks after the utility issued a request last month for renewable-energy project proposals on Lanai.

Sharon Suzuki, president of Hawaiian Electric’s Maui County subsidiary, said in a statement that the utility wants the best solution for customers and that one option being discussed would have Pulama contract with Hawaiian Electric to operate and maintain Lanai’s generators and distribution system.

“These are decisions that have to be made in consultation with the community and we are working with Pulama Lanai to make sure that everyone understands the options,” she said. “We want to work with Pulama Lanai and the community to create a path that can enable the island to reach its sustainability goals faster while ensuring equity and fairness for all of its residents.”