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PUC workshop reviews utility disconnections; Hawaiian Electric and KIUC detail thresholds, protections and pilot ideas
Summary
At a Public Utilities Commission workshop on an RMI disconnection report, Hawaiian Electric and KIUC outlined disconnection thresholds, protections for medical and elderly customers, administrative costs and reconnection fees; the Consumer Advocate urged pilots and data tools to address affordability and reduce disconnections.
The Public Utilities Commission convened a virtual workshop to review an RMI report on utility disconnections and to hear presentations from Hawaiian Electric, the Kauai Island utility cooperative and the Consumer Advocate.
Bridal Bailey, presenting for Hawaiian Electric, said helping customers stay connected is the company’s “primary focus” while outlining arrears trends and protections. Bailey said Hawaiian Electric serves about 471,000 customers (about 416,000 residential) and described a post‑pandemic rise in arrears that followed moratoria. She told attendees the company’s current disconnection notice threshold is $500, down from a peak of about $3,000 immediately after the COVID moratorium, and that the utility has no present plan to change the $500 threshold absent a major economic shift. Bailey said per tariff Rule 7(e) the reconnection fee is $20 for next‑day service with an additional $25 for same‑day reconnection, and that the system uses automated risk classes to prioritize outreach to customers flagged as vulnerable.
Beth Amaro, KIUC’s member services and communications manager, described KIUC’s different…
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