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MECO needs to be under some controlling agency

Last month, I wrote in about the ever-increasing Maui Electric Co. rates – the highest all year with oil/gas prices dropping.

Well, I just got the new bill and, you guessed it, base rate up again. Now, it was a modest 1.2 percent rise, but it continues to climb when we keep bringing more photovoltaic panels on line across the county and also bringing more windmills on line.

The new Ulupalakula facility is supposed to provide power for 10,000 homes. It’s half the capacity of the Maalaea facility, so add another 20,000 homes. Do we have 30,000 homes on Maui?

Do I notice that maybe MECO’s overhead is now being spread over a smaller base because of the increased households adding photovoltaic systems so we, the main MECO users, are carrying the brunt of their overhead?

In the month of December, I made a concentrated effort to reduce my consumption. I reduced my usage by 27 percent from last year. Did it mostly by taking the “bah humbug” route of dramatically reducing my Christmas decorations. Worked but good ole MECO raised the base again.

There were lots of replies to my Dec. 6 letter, but nothing is getting done. MECO still operates as usual, raising the rates. Why isn’t there some controlling agency?

As a retired CPA, I’d love to look at its financials to look for the fat in its statements to identify the cause of rates that are more than 200 percent higher than average Mainland utilities.

Dan Wittern

Kihei

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