Electricity bills to drop by about 6%

Hawaiian Electric announced Thursday that Big Island customers should see cheaper electric bills in October.

The energy company predicts that because of lowering oil prices, an average Big Island residential bill for electricity used throughout September should be down by 6%, or about $16.

The drop in Big Island prices is small compared to other islands, however.

Hawaiian Electric predicts that energy bills on Lanai will drop by 9%, and by 14% on Molokai.

On the other hand, Oahu’s energy bills will rise by about 4%.

Hawaiian Electric states that this increase is still an improvement over a previous prediction that had prices going up by 7%.

Hawaiian Electric advised customers that bills are still higher than they were in March, before the surge in oil prices, and recommended that customers visit the company’s website at hawaiianelectric.com/paymentarrangement to review options for managing their payment plans.