Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 3, 1 March 2013 — Making low-cost electricity a priority [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Making low-cost electricity a priority

Trust.ee' s note: This month's eolumn is written by Noe Kalipi, an attorney born in Hilo anel raised on Moku O Keawe with extensive experienee in Washington, D.C. A former U.S. Army JAG Officer, she currently heaeh up the TiLeaf Group anel is a member of the Big Island Community Coalition. n 2012, a diverse group of

Hawai'i Island citizens joined together to form the Big Island Community Coalition (BICC). We are a group of like-minded volunteers who believe that it's important to take a stand in support of low-cost electricity for Hawai'i Island. What does this mean? It means taking the time to be informed and, where possible, taking a stand with fellow Hawai'i Island citizens to support increased opportunities to

utilize proven and reliable renewable energy technologies that result in stable, low-cost electricity for Hawai'i Island residents. Why is lowcost electricity so important? Because it directly

impacts the quality of life for Hawai'i Island residents. Whether it's our electricity bill, the amount we pay to put gas in our cars and diesel in our trucks or tractors, or what we pay to buy eggs and milk (whose price includes the cost of refrigeration in the store), we pay for energy. The more we pay for energy, the less we have to pay for everything else and the more difficult our choices become.

These costs affect some of us more than others - for example, those on fixed incomes are forced to make difficult decisions about what bills to pay as energy costs continue to rise. We received messages from Hawai'i Island residents sharing stories about having to choose between feeding families or paying for electricity. Some business owners shared that their monthly electricity bill is higher than their rent, whieh puts their businesses in jeopardy. So why is the BICC important? Because it illustrates the importance of Big Island residents joining together to make low-cost electricity a priority. We are past the times when we ean sit back and do nothing. We can't afford to let others make decisions for us and then eomplain about the results. In today's world, all action, even inaehon, has dire consequences. The BICC is a perfect example

of how residents ean join together with a eommon goal that helps everyone. Hawai'i Island is already a nahonal leader in renewable generation. HEFCO has made a lot of progress and is continuing to take big steps to generate electricity using elean, renewable resources including solar, wind, hydro, oeean, wave and geothermal technologies. Not all technologies, however, lead to low-cost electricity. We need to be paying attention to what is happening so that we ean provide our mana'o to decision makers to emphasize that lower electricity rates are a priority for us because we are already paying four times the nahonal average price for electricity. Everyday citizens CAN and SHOUFD make their voices heard on issues as important as energy costs. The BICC takes this role seriously - we monitor what is

happening and we share the information with our friends, eoworkers, family members, social media partners - anyone and everyone who will listen. Sometimes we are on the same side as the utility supporting a technology or project that will decrease our reliance on imported fossil fuels and keep our prices down. Sometimes we are on the opposite side when there is a rate increase or a project that will definitely result in increased prices. We are always consistent, however, in preserving the opportunities for low-cost eleetricity generated by indigenous, renewable resources with proven technologies. What we have learned in the short time that we have been in existence is that together we ean make a difference. We invite all of you to take action to make low-cost electricity a priority. Together we ean shape the elean energy future for our state. ■

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Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. TrustEE, Hawai'i