The cost of living in Hawaii is about to get a little worse

A lot of people ask me how much our electricity bills are here in Oahu, probably because they have heard that it's expensive to live in Hawaii. Actually our power bills are about the same as CA. The typical bill is about $139 according to Hawaiian Electric company (HECO).

However, Star Bulletin reported today that the state Public Utilities Commission let HECO increase its rates by 4.96 percent immediately while it considers granting an even larger permanent increase.

The effect on a typical bill will be that it goes up $6.61 a month, to $143 from $139.39. The effect on HECO will be that they get Extra revenue of $70 million per year. Holy cow. Can I raise my rates to get $70 million extra please?

The bottom line is that our power bills are not much higher (or not any higher) than many cities in the country. We don't actually run our AC's most of the year, because it's just not that hot most of the time. If you live on the West side of Oahu, it's going to be a little hotter.

Power bills are higher in Ewa Beach, Waikele, Makakilo, and Kapolei, since it's hotter over there and the wind doesn't blow as much. In Kailua and Kaneohe, the wind and rain keep it nice and cool so you'll have a cheaper power bill. I guess it's only fair since you pay so much more for real estate on the Windward side anyway. It's doesn't even out though, not even close.