Are you having trouble affording your electric bill? You're not alone.
More Hawaiʻi residents are falling behind on their utilities and having their electricity shut off. The Public Utilities Commission is exploring possible reforms that can further protect customers who are struggling to pay for power.
A new report issued by the PUC estimates that 6,000 households had their power cut in 2023 due to missed payments, which is about double the number of disconnections that occurred in 2019.
Several factors could be contributing to that spike in disconnections. Beyond soaring energy prices, the overall cost of living has risen in Hawaiʻi, putting additional pressure on residents to keep up with all of their expenses. And many pandemic assistance programs, which once helped people pay for essentials like food, housing, and energy, have ended or are winding down.
Michael Angelo, the executive director of the state's Division of Consumer Advocacy, said that context is important. However, to fully understand why disconnections are on the rise, policymakers need more information about what's transpiring between utilities and customers who are facing power shutoffs.
“How utilities interact with their customers can drive whether they arrive at a solution, or whether the customer steps away and doesn't want to engage, and then we wind up in the situation where they're facing disconnection,” Angelo said.
'Inconsistency in reporting'
Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative serves 33,000 residential and commercial customers. The co-op initiated 137 disconnections in both 2022 and 2023. It has a 90-day timeline from when it first sends a customer a bill to when the customer's unpaid balance is sent to collections.
Around Day 41, KIUC may limit the customer’s access to power to about 600 watts, which is "usually enough to run your refrigerator and a couple lights," according to the utility’s website. Power is fully disconnected around Day 48.
KIUC gives special consideration to customers who are over 62-years-old, disabled, or rely on electricity to power medical equipment. The co-op doesn't charge late fees for non-payment of bills, but it may require a deposit before full service can be re-established. KIUC also contributes to funds managed by Kauaʻi Economic Opportunity, Inc. and Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi that provide emergency utility assistance to residents in need.
Hawaiian Electric declined HPR’s request for an interview on its disconnection process, but the utility’s website advises customers who are having trouble with their bills to reach out to set up a payment plan. They also offer special assistance to customers with medical needs or who are on life support.
Getting data from utilities is a big hurdle in trying to understand how disconnections affect customers, said David Konisky, co-director of the Energy Justice Lab, which tracks utility disconnections nationwide.
During the pandemic, many states, including Hawaiʻi, put in place temporary moratoria on disconnections, which were often paired with reporting requirements. Konisky said it was the first time information on disconnections was broadly available.
But fewer than half of states have kept those reporting requirements in place, hampering researchers’ ability to examine how and why utilities are cutting customers’ power.
"It's really challenging to get a full picture of the problem across the country because of this inconsistency in reporting," Konisky said.
PUC seeks clarity on disconnections
PUC attorney Mike Wallerstein said the PUC is looking to fill in some of those data gaps for Hawaiʻi.
“We need to do some data gathering so that we can inform the policy work. We don't have enough information to make good decisions yet,” Wallerstein said.
Wallerstein added that customers' experiences are essential to the PUC's investigation.
"We'd love to hear from anybody who's experienced a disconnection in this docket. We'd love to know how that affected you, love to know why it happened. This will help inform any policy decisions that the commission makes," Wallerstein said.
The PUC's report details several options for utility disconnection reform, ranging from changes on how customers are contacted about their bills to the possibility of ending utility disconnections altogether. That report is available for public comment until Sept. 16.
"If they've got great ideas, we want them to come in and share them with us," Wallerstein said. "We're here to try and make this situation better with the powers that we have."
Learn more about the Public Utilities Commission’s energy equity work and comment on the utility disconnection report here.
Need help paying utility bills? Find available assistance programs here.
