Wednesday, April 1, 2026 78° Today’s Paper
By James Pakele
Today • Updated 7:36 p.m.
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In a recent commentary, Josh Stanbro told a story I know by heart. He talked about driving through the dark streets of Palolo Valley during a blackout, then coming over the hill to Kahala, where dozens of homes glowed with solar-backed power — and the contrast was jarring (“Energy sovereignty is energy equity,” March 22, Island Voices, Star-Advertiser).
The families sitting in the dark — from Palolo, across the island to Waianae — weren’t in the dark because Hawaii lacks enough solar policy. They were in the dark because they couldn’t afford solar. And no amount of re-oriented tax credits changes that.
I agree with Josh on rooftop solar. Yes — more of it. Automatic permitting, expanded incentives, balcony solar — yes to all of it. But that’s only half the answer. The other half is lowering the cost of the shared grid infrastructure that serves the families who will never have solar, no matter what the tax code says.
More rooftop solar? Yes. And we also need to fix what every ratepayer pays. The grid is the one part of the system that every household pays for, whether they have solar or not.
Many Hawaii households are below the ALICE threshold — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Families just above the federal poverty line who can’t afford a $20,000-$30,000 solar PV system and can’t benefit from nonrefundable tax credits.
Households below the poverty line spend a larger portion of their income on electricity. Renters carry a higher energy burden than homeowners because they typically earn less. When we talk about energy equity, we have to talk about renters, too.
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I watch these academics and advocates argue that replacing this residual fuel oil with cleaner alternatives is somehow a step backward.
But this isn’t about choosing against renewables — it’s about replacing the highest-cost fuel, while continuing to build toward that renewable future. They’re speaking from a position of comfort that most families in my community don’t share.
Environmental justice has to mean something for the family in Waianae already spending a quarter of their income keeping the lights on, not just for those who can afford solar and batteries.
I learned this. Flip your electric bill over. Find the line that says Energy Cost Recovery. My “energy cost recovery” is $379 of the $827 total bill. That’s the highest line item on my bill. That’s a charge for residual fuel oil billed at import parity — meaning it is priced against global oil markets.
So when global oil prices go up, our electricity bills go up. This residual fuel oil is what’s left over after the higher-value fuels are extracted from the oil and processed here on the island.
In other words, we are paying global market prices for a lower-value residual fuel. We can’t deny the impact this is having on our community. It’s the highest number on the bill.
The JERA proposal replaces the 60-year-old plants with new gas-fired turbines, a transition that can help lower near-term costs and stabilize the system as more renewables come online. JERA is also bringing the money to do it, of course repaid through fuel savings over time, which brings down that energy cost line.
JERA still has to get state Public Utilities Commission approval and if it can’t prove the savings, it probably won’t get approval. That’s as it should be. But that benefit flows to everyone, even those who don’t own a home or a roof.
Josh Stanbro is right that Hawaii needs energy sovereignty for all its people. But “for all” means ensuring the family who cannot afford solar and batteries doesn’t keep paying the highest rates for oil.
The question isn’t about competing with renewables. It’s about whether we’re willing to lower the cost of the shared grid in the meantime — especially for the households who can’t access rooftop solutions. Otherwise, they are the ones left holding the bag while others join the folks in Kahala.
James Pakele is a community advocate and consultant based on the Waianae Coast.
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