Electrical bills shrink $2.13 from last month

Hawaiian Electric Co. electrical bills continue to tumble into the new year, as Oahu customers will see a $2 drop in January from their electrical bill in December.

The bill for a typical household using 500 kilowatt-hours on Oahu will be $129.34 this month, $2.13 cents less than what customers paid in December.

The price per kilowatt-hour on Oahu decreased to 23.8 cents this month from 24.2 cents in December. The January price is the lowest in more than five years.

Electrical costs are dropping as oil prices continue to slide, according to the Hawaiian Electric Cos., the state’s largest utility provider, with service to Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii island.

Darren Pai, HECO spokesman, said the utility still plans to increase its use of renewable energy in spite of the drop in oil costs.

“To ensure sustainable benefits for our customers, we are committed to achieving a 100 percent renewable portfolio standard by developing a diverse mix of renewable energy resources at lower and more stable prices,” Pai said.

Hawaii still has the highest electrical rates in the nation due in part to the state’s dependence on imported oil for most of its power.

Hawaii’s price of electricity is more than double the national average, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Hawaii’s residents paid an average of 28.2 cents a kilowatt-hour in October, while the national average was 12.7 cents in the same month.

In 2014 oil made up roughly 71.3 percent of the energy mix of HECO and its subsidiaries. HECO imports oil mainly from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Other states use natural gas, hydro­electric power, coal or nuclear power, which keep costs low. Currently, 22 percent of the electricity needs of HECO’s customers are coming from renewable energy, such as wind farms and solar.

Fuel costs make up 50 percent of the typical bill.

Oil prices fell to their lowest level in 12 years Monday. Futures of West Texas intermediate crude for February delivery settled at $31.41 a barrel, down 5.3 percent. Oil futures, which lost 30 percent last year, have declined every day of 2016. Brent oil, the main international benchmark, lost 6.5 percent and closed Monday at $31.55 a barrel.

The residential rate for Hawaii Electric Light Co. customers on the Big Island decreased to 29.8 cents a kilowatt-hour from 30.1 cents in December, when the average bill was $162.59. The January bill for a household using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity is $160.63.

Maui Electric Co. customers will see a slight decrease in rates to 26.3 cents per kilowatt-hour from 26.4 cents in December. A household using 500 kilowatt-hours will pay $141.54, down from $142.07 last month.

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative dropped its rate to 30.6 cents a kilowatt-hour in January from 31.1 cents a kilowatt-hour in December. The bill for a household using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity, including a $10.58 customer base charge, is $163.58, down from $166.13.

Average monthly usage varies by island. The typical bill of 500 kilowatt-hours is used to make comparisons. Monthly bills include the cost according to the kilowatt-hours used plus other charges.

The typical customer bill on Lanai and Molokai is measured with electrical use at 400 kilowatt-hours due to lower energy use, HECO said.

Maui Electric Co. customers on Molokai using 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity will pay an average of $133.44 with effective rates of 30.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, down from 31.2 cents per kilowatt-hour in December, when the typical bill was $134.63.

Customers on Lanai using 400 kilowatt-hours of electricity will pay 31.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, down from 33.1 cents per kilowatt-hour in December. Lanai residents will pay $135.62 in January, compared with $142.35 in December.

The New York Times contributed to this story.