UPDATE * APR 18,2013 PUBLIC MEETING MECO has announced a meeting on Tuesday 4/30/13 from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Kihei Community Center 303 E Lipoa St concerning the “proposed South Maui Reliability Projects,” including the transmission line from Maalaea across Kihei and the Kamali’i and Kaonoulu substations. For more information, call 244-2015
DEC 14, 2011 An ever swelling crowd reached over 100 at the Kamali’i School on the evening of Dec 12, 2011, to first hear what Maui Electric Company (MECO) was now proposing for the additional transmission lines extending from Maalaea power station to So. Kihei, then spoke up and told MECO what the residents want for their community. KCA was well represented with four board members and numerous community members expressing the will of the residents, and for the first time, MECO offered partial underground lines as one option, extending the length of the Pi’ilani Highway, while offering cost estimates for the various routes in total, and how it might affect monthly electric bills of MECO’s Maui County customers.(See photo charts below) A full detailed report on the meeting will appear in the Maui Weekly.
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This was a clear and concise overview of the MECO meeting. The number of people who attended encouraged me. Thank you for the expeditious report.
At the Dec 12th meeting, MECO stated that it wanted to hear from the community. However, it already heard from the community last month, when it went before the public utilities commission and asked for a rate increase. Those who attended the Wailuku meeting mostly spoke out about the transmission lines along Piilani Highway. They talked about our view planes, the impact on tourism, the beauty of the area and health issues. MECO had plenty of information. Yet at the meeting on Dec. 12, MECO gave a cost analysis comparing the cost of having transmission lines above or below the ground. In their presentation, did they use any of the information they had already heard from the community to factor in the actual cost difference? No, they did not. They can not factor into the cost of not burying the transmission lines- the cost of the impact on tourism. They have no formula to show that having 70 foot poles lining Piilani highway could in the long run impact on the tourism industry. Yet, for a cost of $29 a year, they are willing to compromise the beauty of the island. Would it be cheaper years from now to bury the lines? I would suspect not. Rather, once the lines are up, they will be an eyesore forever. Forever, impacting on our view planes, forever being an ugly sight on the environment. Why doesn’t MECO do the right thing and tell the commission that the cost of putting up 70 foot poles along the highway is just too costly to the beauty of the island. Maui cannot afford to have transmission lines anywhere else but buried along Piilani highway.
It is beyond time to underground transmission lines not continue to overhead the lines.
I find it interesting that all new development is mandated to put in underground utilities as part of their infrastructure…..MECO a for profit company should also be mandated to bury their transmission lines. I would have to think that long term repairs (storm maintenance and general weather conditions; heat and wind) would greatly exceed the initial cost of burying the ugly buggahs. MECO needs to look long term not just short term profits