PUC workshop reviews utility disconnections; Hawaiian Electric and KIUC detail thresholds, protections and pilot ideas

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 approach: a lower internal trigger and a service‑limitation step before full disconnection. She said KIUC’s tariff triggers service limitation for nonpayment of $200 or more after 25 days; the cooperative’s limiter reduces delivered power to roughly 600 watts, intended to maintain a refrigerator and lights overnight while prompting the member to contact the utility. Amaro gave a January 2024 example month in which about 2,000 past‑due notices were issued, 325 accounts were service‑limited and nine accounts were disconnected (four later reconnected by the city). KIUC said reconnection fees are $20 during business hours and $40 after hours and that payment arrangements, deposits and charitable support (through a KIUC Charitable Foundation and partner agencies) are in place to help members.

Both utilities described administrative costs tied to disconnections and arrears management. Hawaiian Electric presented an estimate of roughly $1.2 million to handle disconnected customers and about $1.5 million for arrears management, citing categories such as credit and collections, payment processing, customer care, field service and collection agency costs.

The Consumer Advocate framed disconnections as a symptom of affordability and urged the commission to pursue solutions that reduce disconnections without unduly shifting cost burdens between ratepayer groups. The office suggested establishing measurable goals, piloting targeted programs and deploying an interactive monitoring tool (similar to examples used in other states) to track arrears, disconnections and the effectiveness of interventions. Valerie Trujillo, an education specialist at the Consumer Advocate office, described a case in which DCA staff and Hawaiian Electric’s ombudsman coordinated to establish a new account and direct charitable assistance for a renter and child who otherwise lacked service after the homeowner died.

Attendees asked technical and policy questions: one participant queried why the RMI analysis equated two disconnections to one household; another asked whether AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) can speed remote reconnections. Hawaiian Electric said its data are customer‑account based and that AMI can reduce truck rolls but that manual steps often remain. KIUC said its back‑office systems do not track detailed demographic data beyond ZIP code but that it can manually identify site types (apartments versus single‑family) when needed.

Panelists and the Consumer Advocate discussed communication strategies (timing, repeated reminders and using multiple channels), protections for customers with medical dependencies or in protected classes, and the potential role of rate‑stabilizing measures as renewables increase to reduce bill volatility. Both utilities signaled openness to further discussion of program design, reconnection‑fee levels and other refinements through the docket process.

The commission closed by inviting nonprofits and community groups to present firsthand experiences at a planned second workshop before Thanksgiving, and said the docket will publish slides and recordings and that the commission is seeking a public‑engagement consultant to support outreach on the equity docket.

Next procedural step: the PUC expects a follow‑up workshop for community organizations and individuals to present lived experiences and to consider pilot designs and metrics for tracking affordability and disconnection outcomes.