The recent downtown Honolulu power outage is forcing us to ask some hard questions about how we can do a better job at keeping the lights on.
The Public Utilities Commission took the first step toward setting up a new framework to do just that. It opened a docket to explore "wheeling."
The method allows power producers, such as a school with its own solar farm, to essentially rent existing electric lines owned by a utility. The PUC will look at the possibility for entities who generate energy to keep power on for themselves in the event of an outage.
"Example, I generate X amount of energy, I want to use it at my company that's, you know, a mile away. Instead of myself building a wire line, right, an electric wire line, you know, I use the utility's line. Of course, that comes at a cost to me to use their lines. And that's one of the items that we want to explore," said PUC Chair Leodoloff “Leo” Asuncion Jr.
"Right now, if I were to generate the energy, it just goes into the grid, and it just goes to every customer, depending on what island I'm on. And I may get paid for that energy, but then, more than likely, if I want to use it at my own company to offset my electric bill, etc., that's basically what wheeling is," he added.
The concept itself is not new, but the cost of using Hawaiian Electric lines has been a factor.
"The technology to generate energy has changed over the last 20 years," Asuncion said. "I think this is something that we need to take a look at to efficiently use all of our utility infrastructure. And it's just something that, if it's feasible for the state of Hawaiʻi, we would like to see it as part of the toolbox as we move towards 100% renewable energy."
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 8, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
