By ANDREW GOMES Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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Everyone’s next bill from Hawaiian Electric may deliver a shock.

Hawaii’s biggest utility on Wednesday warned customers that typical residential bills may rise between 20% and 30% over the next several months due to global oil prices soaring since late February amid the war in Iran and other geopolitical tensions.

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Oahu customers will start seeing higher April bills, followed by Hawaii Island and Maui County customers in May and June, according to the company.

Hawaiian Electric relies heavily on imported oil to generate electricity, and under state regulatory rules is allowed to pass on much of the higher costs for oil to customers, and conversely lowers bills in conjunction with falling oil prices.

“As an island state that relies heavily on imported fuel for electricity generation and transportation, Hawaii is particularly sensitive to global fossil fuel price fluctuations,” company officials said in a news release posted on its website.

A 20% to 30% increase to the March bill for a typical residential customer represents about $39 to $67.

On Oahu, where the March bill for a typical residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity was $196.43, the projected increase would be $39.29 to $58.93.

For Maui County, where the typical residential bill in March was $200.40, such an increase would be $40.08 to $60.12.

Hawaii Island customers would see the biggest increase based on a typical residential bill in March of $224.24, at a projected $44.85 to $67.27.

Honolulu resident Mike King wasn’t anticipating such a jump, and said it’ll be a painful addition to Hawaii’s already high cost of living.

“It’s a lot,” he said. “Any increase is hellish.”

Hieu Nguyen from Kaneohe also was stunned. He recognized major increases in gas prices in recent weeks, but didn’t expect that electric bills would be going up as much as the utility company is forecasting.

“I thought it might go up a little, but I didn’t think it was going to be that much,” he said. “30% is significant.”

Hawaiian Electric, which has about 474,000 customers, said it will make options available starting Monday for ratepayers to work with customer service representatives to spread out bill impacts, including through interest-free payment plans for up to six months.

“We’re committed to supporting our communities during times of uncertainty and we’re hopeful this price surge ends quickly,” Rebecca Dayhuff Matsushima, vice president of customer service for the utility, said in a statement. “Providing interest-free payment options is one way we can help customers manage through temporary cost pressures while continuing to meet their energy needs.”

Dayhuff Matsushima also said, “We recognize that Hawaii already faces a high cost of living and that any increase in energy costs places an additional burden on our families and businesses. We want our customers to be informed, prepared and supported as we navigate this period together.”

The company suggested that ratepayers can mitigate some of the higher coming costs by reducing electricity consumption in ways that include cutting back on some uses and investing in more efficient devices. Those suggestions include going without air conditioning, setting its temperature at 78 degrees, or just turning it off for one hour.

The company also suggested investing in rooftop solar, using smart plugs or unplugging electronics when not in use, and buying a heat-pump water heater that can be bought with a rebate of up to $700 and can cut an energy bill by up to 40%.

Hawaiian Electric in 2025 used about 786,000 barrels of oil a month to make electricity, and receives crude under a fuel supply contract with Par Hawaii.

The timing of bill impacts varying by island is due to when fuel supplies were purchased for each island, at what price and when they are received. For Oahu, the company already has received more fuel purchased at higher prices than for Hawaii island and Maui County.

Global oil prices surged immediately after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and Hawaiian Electric said oil prices rose about 50% in March.

The utility said its formula for rates is regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission, and includes fuel costs that fluctuate with world market prices monthly and don’t generate any profit for Hawaiian Electric.

Under what the company described as a fuel-cost risk-sharing regulatory mechanism, shareholders in Hawaiian Electric’s parent company are required to pay some of the cost when oil prices rise too much, according to the company, which said this results in a slightly dampened rate for customers.

Jeff Hendrix of Kailua understands that Hawaiian Electric is regulated but said it doesn’t seem fair that customers bear such a burden when a major fuel source for generating electricity spikes.

“It seems pretty excessive to me,” Hendrix said of a 20% to 30% jump in monthly bills.

Because there’s a lot of volatility in the oil market and uncertainty over when the war will end, Hawaiian Electric officials said they can’t forecast how long high electricity rates will last.

Hawaii already has the highest electricity rates among states due to its heavy reliance on imported oil as a fuel source.

State law enacted in 2015 mandated that 100% of electricity generated in Hawaii be from renewable sources by 2045. But the transition, which includes the addition of solar and wind energy farms that can be much cheaper than power from oil, has been slow.

At the end of last year, 37% of Hawaiian Electric power generation was from renewable sources, up from 36% the year before. The figure by island last year was 32% on Oahu, 42% for Maui County and 57% for Hawaii Island.

Hawaiian Electric said it is on pace to meet the 2045 goal, and that it has reduced its use of oil by 55 million gallons annually since 2008. The company also said it is bringing more than a dozen fixed-price renewable energy projects online in the coming years.

On Kauai, where the customer-owned Kauai Island Utility Cooperative provides electricity, rates for April went up 13% from March. That increase is expected to add about $25 to the bill for a residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month.

KIUC generates about half of its power from renewable sources with fixed prices, and on sunny days can derive 100% of energy from renewable sources that buffer the utility from volatile oil prices. The nonprofit company has proposed developing two renewable energy projects that it said could boost renewable energy to 80% of its portfolio by the end of 2029.

“At that point the price of oil will have relatively little impact on our rates,” KIUC said.