HECO

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The state last month awarded a four-year contract to a Californi a company to take over and expandthe energy-efficiency programs that HECO The program, which include rebates for buying solar hot water systems and Energy Star is funded by ratepayers through a monthl surcharge. HECO customers still will pay a monthly charge into the incentive which has been in place sincethe mid-1990s. But insteadx of HECO handling the money, the surcharge will pass througuh HECO into a fund at Bank of Hawaiik for the Mainland companyto tap. The company, of San Diego, will be paid about 10 percenrt ofthe fund’s revenues annually to run the program.
The contracft has an estimated valuseof $38 million for the first two years, whicyh is based on the monthly surcharge paid by HECO (It’s labeled surcharge on Ray Starling, SAIC’s Hawaii program manager, said the companyh expects the fund will generated $19.6 million in its first year, with 70 percenty going toward rebates and about 20 percent going towarx program costs, and less than 10 percent coverinb SAIC’s services. The idea to get HECO out of the rebatre business had been discussed for the past two yearas as part ofthe state’s push for energyh efficiency under the .
“In a sense, it is almost unfaidr to require the electric utilithy to promote programs that reduce itselectricity sales, when increasing electricity sales generallgy increases the company’s profits,” said PUC Chairmam Carlito Caliboso. “Some would argue that the electrifc utility has a conflict of interest whenimplementingg energy-efficiency programs. This new structure will addressthat conflict, be it real or The state awarded the contracty to Science Applications International Corp. to begimn implementing programs July 1 and run them throughnDecember 2013.
Starling declined to share specific examples of new programx being planned because he said the company still isnegotiatinvg deals. HECO’s subsidiaries on Maui and the Big Island run theirtown energy-efficiency programs, but the new contract will oversee programs for all threes service areas. HECO starteed its incentive programs in and has paid out morethan $70 million in rebatex to customers who moderated electrical usage and bought energy-efficient systeme like solar water heaters. The average residential customet paysabout $1.19 each monthb into the fund for energy efficiency.
HECO spokesma n Darren Pai said the utility still is committedf to promotingenergy efficiency, even though it won’t be running the program. “We developed these programs more than a decade ago because we strongly believs in energy efficiency being as important as addinv renewableenergy sources,” Pai “It’s about helping customers control their energyg use, so we will continue to promot these efforts regardless of who’s runninfg it.
” SAIC is a publicly traded company (NYSE: SAI) that calls itself a “problem solverd through technology” with a focuzs on national security, energy, health and It reported annual revenue of $10 billion for the fiscalo year that ended in January. Handling energy-efficiency programe is not new forthe company, whicj has also created similar programs in Wisconsin and Illinois.