KIUC Members Attend 22nd Annual Meeting

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KIUC Members Attend 22nd Annual Meeting

August 2, 2024

Lihue, HI – Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) held their Annual Membership Meeting in-person at the Kauaʻi Philippine Cultural Center on Wednesday, July 31 with nearly 100 people in attendance.

KIUC Board Chair Allan Smith greeted the crowd with the Board of Directors, including new Director Mike Yamane. The Board of Directors provided an informational presentation that spotlighted progress on KIUC’s three strategic priorities:

1. Cost of Electricity: From May 2022 through July 2024, KIUC has posted the lowest residential rates in the State of Hawaiʻi. KIUC stabilized rates over the past ten years through a variety of strategies, including:
   1. Reducing staffing levels by approximately 12% since 2009;
   2. Replacing fossil fuel generation with lower-cost, fixed-price renewables;
   3. Restructuring existing debt and reducing debt service to achieve up to $5 million in savings annually.
2. Carbon Footprint: KIUC led the State of Hawaiʻi for the fifth straight year in renewable generation at 57.9% by using both utility-scale and rooftop solar, hydro and biomass. Last year, biodiesel provided by Pacific Biodiesel was added to its portfolio. KIUC will continue its focus on reducing its carbon footprint by pursuing additional solar+battery storage projects and reaching its goal of being 100% renewable by 2033.
3. Resilience and Reliability: Relocating utility assets out of areas prone to the impacts of climate change, such as moving its east side service center from Kapaʻa to Anahola in 2023, will continue to be a strategy to improve resilience. KIUC continues to implement storm-hardening and wildfire-mitigation improvements such as replacing wood poles with fiberglass structures. The cooperative has also implemented both Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Outage Management System (OMS) technology for analytics and improved real-time grid monitoring capabilities. Efforts are also focused on enhanced cybersecurity and creating microgrids to service localized areas when large outages occur.

Other topics covered during the presentation were KIUC’s receipt of $25 million in federal funding, the reduction of bird strikes by an estimated 66% for seabirds and 90% for waterbirds in compliance with its draft Habitat Conservation plan, and Charitable Foundation grant awards.

Per tradition, members in attendance received a complimentary bowl of chili and a bag rice. Over 700 pounds of rice were donated to the Hawaiʻi Food Bank Kauaʻi and Kauaʻi Independent Food Bank after the event.

A copy of the full PowerPoint presentation can be found here.

The 2023 Annual Report and the Strategic Plan Update can be read online.