Utility submits plans for smart grid project | News, Sports, Jobs

Hawaiian Electric Cos., including subsidiary Maui Electric Co., is seeking to embark on a $340 million project to install smart grid technology which will allow customers to monitor their electricity use by computers or mobile devices and the utility to improve grid operations and integration of renewable energy.

MECO, Hawaiian Electric and Hawaii Electric Light on Thursday submitted plans to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to review the “Smart Grid Foundation Project,” a modernization plan that would involve their 455,000 customers on Oahu and Hawaii island and in Maui County. If approved, Maui County and Hawaii island could see the installation of smart meters beginning in 2018, a year later than Oahu.

Customers will see slight increases in their electric bills to pay for the upgrades, which the utility said is needed to provide better service.

“Modernizing our electric grid is a critical part of our commitment to better serve our customers and achieve a clean energy future for Hawaii,” said Alan Oshima, Hawaiian Electric president and CEO. “This investment will lay the technological foundation to enable us to provide our customers with better service, more options to manage their bills, more renewable energy and other services in the future.”

The project includes use of modern wireless communication networks, smart meters and other technology that will upgrade the existing grid to be more automated and energy-efficient, according to a HECO news release. Smart meters will enable automated services, such as remote meter reading and power outage detection and restoration.

Smart meters are electric meters that enable two-way sharing of data between a home or business and the utility through a secure wireless communications network, according to the Hawaiian Electric website. Smart meters have a digital display and are similar in size to analog electric meters.

Smart meters also can be part of smart grids that support demand response programs, where the utility can shut off customers’ water heaters for a few moments, for example, to trim energy use to maintain the equilibrium between power used and produced, Shayna Decker, communications director for MECO, indicated Friday. Currently, nonsmart grids allow utilities to control only the amount of power it produces – not what is consumed – to maintain that balance.

Customers who do not want smart meters do not need to get one but will pay a monthly charge of about $15 to help pay for the cost of continued manual reading and maintenance of their nonsmart meters. HECO noted that a similar charge has been implemented by the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, as well as other utilities across the country.

Initially, the project will result in an increase of $1.50 to $2.50 to monthly bills for those who use 500 kilowatt hours, which is the average household usage, Decker said. Costs could differ for Lanai and Molokai, which generally have higher power costs.

As the efficiency of the grid increases and customers use the smart grid technology to manage their energy use, Decker said, the initial increases to bills are projected to begin decreasing after the sixth year of the program.

“Over the 20-year life of the investment, this project will slightly increase bills for residential customers in Maui County by an average of approximately 35 cents per month,” said Decker, summarizing the possible overall costs to the customer. “This project is an investment that will result in future savings over its 20-year life. Customers will receive the most benefit if they make use of the Web portal to control their energy use.”

If the PUC approves the merger of Hawaiian Electric Cos. and NextEra Energy, smart meter installations for customers will be accelerated by two years, with completion in 2019 instead of 2021. The installations will cost customers $22 million less under NextEra.

Hawaiian Electric touted NextEra Energy’s “extensive smart grid technology expertise and experience, particularly in the area of system integration” for the savings and the earlier completion. NextEra Energy subsidiary Florida Power & Light was an early leader in the installation and use of smart-grid technology, installing smart meters for 4.8 million customers in Florida, according to Hawaiian Electric.

The PUC currently is mulling over the proposed merger between Hawaiian Electric and NextEra.

Maui has some experience with smart-meter technology. In 2012, the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa partnered with MECO to secure $14.4 million to fund a South Maui pilot project to install 91 smart meters in 86 Maui Meadows residences.

A few residents expressed concern about the meters emitting strong bursts of microwave radiation, which they said can cause medical conditions including ringing in the ears, headaches, nausea, heart irregularities, memory loss and anxiety. The group Stop Smart Meters Hawaii has expressed similar concerns.

A study done in 2014 on five Maui Meadows residences with smart meters found that the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the devices was not enough to present a hazard to residents.

Some residents who volunteered for the project said that having the meters helped them cut down on energy consumption and costs because they were able to monitor their energy use.

“It’s important to modernize the electric grids in all the areas we provide power on all three islands of Maui County so that we can better serve our customers and offer them the benefits that a modernized grid can bring,” Decker said.

The installation of smart meters is simple and quick, Decker added. The process of removing the old meter and installing a smart meter typically takes less than 15 minutes for a residential installation with work done outside the home.

There will be a one-time fee of about $49 assessed only if a residential customer changes his or her mind and decides not to participate in the program after the existing meter has been replaced with a smart meter.

For commercial customers, a one-time fee of about $313 would apply if customers decide not to participate after their existing meters have been replaced with a smart meter. Commercial customers use different meters and the replacement process is more complicated than residential customers, resulting in higher costs, Decker said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com

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