Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is seeking to recover costs for implementation of its 2025-27 Wildlife Mitigation Plan.
Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is seeking to establish an initial surcharge to recover about $9.4 million in operations and maintenance, capital costs and compliance efforts for its wildfire mitigation efforts.
The utility cooperative applied to with Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission to establish a wildfire cost recovery mechanism. It follows the commission’s approval in May of the Kaua’i utility co-op’s wildfire mitigation plan.
State law allows Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative — as an electric cooperative — to recover its approved wildfire mitigation, repair and restoration costs through an automatic rate adjustment clause or other tariff recovery mechanism established by Public Utilities Commission.
“Protecting our members, communities and island resources from wildfire risk is one of [Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s] highest priorities,” said Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative President and Chief Executive Officer David Bissell in a utility release about the action. “The projects included in our [wildfire mitigation plan] are designed to reduce the likelihood of utility-related ignitions, strengthen the reliability of our electric system and help safeguard our communities now and in the future,” .
The wildfire mitigation plan was prepared in response to the tragic, destructive and deadly August 2023 wildfires on Maui and identifies various efforts to enhance Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative wildfire prevention and response efforts.
That includes:
- Increased vegetation management by expanding vegetation clearances from power lines and hiring additional tree trimmers
- Use of advanced pole testing technology and drone inspections to improve the ability to detect needed pole replacements and repairs. A total of 1,000-plus poles were identified and changed out since 2025 as a result.
- Installation of Tempest weather stations around the island near the cooperative’s core facilities and operations to better detect weather patterns that could lead to wildfire risks.
- Removal of all bare wire lines on the utility co-op’s system.
- Use of infrared thermography to inspect substation equipment.
- Use of cameras and other technologies to further enhance situational awareness.
- Upcoming islandwide replacement of the cooperative’s about 7,500 fuses and 5,600 arresters with fire-safe fuses and arresters.
Costs incurred for these efforts total more than $18 million and are expected to reach $55 million by the end of 2027.
Projected impact of the requested surcharge, if approved by the state utilities board, for an average residential bill — using 500 kilowatt-hours per month — is estimated at $12.87 per month and would begin to be reflected in customer bills starting April 2027.
The cost recovery amounts will change in future years as wildfire mitigation plan efforts continue to advance and evolve. Work is already underway on the next mitigation plan that would cover 2027 and 2028.
That new plan is required to be submitted in December for review by state Public Utilities Commission.
No one welcomes additional costs.
However, wildfire management is now a core focus of of the utility co-op and investments are necessary to address the growing threat to ensure continues implementing critical safety measures.
Bissell further noted that a recent federal grant award of $2.4 million dollars will help defray a portion of the fire-safe fuse and arrester replacement project.
Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative is also seeking additional federal funding for wildfire mitigation work.
Bissell said the submitted wildfire cost recovery mechanism was designed to have a reconciliation mechanism toward actual costs.
The utility cooperative will file an annual reconciliation with the state of the total surcharge revenue collected for the previous calendar year compared with surcharge revenue required based on actual costs and sales levels.
Any difference in the total collected versus total required will be applied to customer accounts as an additional credit or surcharge from April 1 to Dec. 31 of the year the annual filing is made.
