PUC calls project transformative

 

HAWAII'S KAUAI ISLAND UTILITY COOPERATIVE (KIUC) received the green light from the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission at the end of September for its part in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's (NRECA's) Cooperative Research Network (CRN) smart grid demonstration project.

The KIUC project, which will span five years, will see the installation of about 33,000 smart meters, a wireless mesh network system, a meter data management system, and smart meter thermostats and in-home energy displays along with ZigBee modules and software to enable consumers to view their energy usage.

The project's total cost is $11,964,004, half of which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy/NRECA grant.

Dual approval
The KIUC project, which was filed in October 2010, got a thumbs-up both from the Consumer Advocate and from Hawaii PUC commissioners.

"The project is transformative for the island of Kauai," the PUC said. It added: "The commission also recognizes the additional benefits gained through access to study results from a wide range of national project participants through NRECA."

For its part, the Consumer Advocate, while acknowledging there were long-term uncertainties to the project, gave its approval to the KIUC, noting in particular, that "As a result of this funding, the rate impact to KIUC's ratepayers is anticipated to be relatively minimal as (KIUC) estimates a residential customer's bill using 500 kWh will increase approximately $0.57 per month as a result of the proposed project."

Efficiency high on the list
KIUC, which is based in Lihue, Kauai, is a not-for-profit electric cooperative engaged in the production, transmission, distribution, purchase and sale of electric energy on the island. The project will bring advanced meter technology to every household on Kauai.

"We are a small island grid," Mike Yamane, the co-op's chief of operations and project lead engineer, said in a statement issued shortly after the decision was announced. "Upgrading our electrical grid with smart meters and related technology can make our system more efficient and help integrate new smart appliances, electric cars, and other new and evolving technologies over the coming years."

According to the PUC decision and order, the new infrastructure will allow the co-op to conduct remote meter readings, detect outages at the household level, and demonstrate the effectiveness of load control and demand response systems and allow the utility to evaluate alternate rate designs.

Installation is expected to begin in early 2012, and last for two years. The final three years of the project will be used for data gathering and analysis.

Advance community outreach
KIUC began its community outreach for the project as early as 2009, using bill inserts, magazine articles, online information and more. In 2011, even before the project was approved, it held quarterly meetings to discuss it with members, explaining the expected ben-efits for consumers: greater accuracy, fewer estimated bills, no meter readers on the property, billing date flexibility, a way to monitor energy consumption, improved power quality, faster outage restoration and potential energy efficiency savings for members.

Additional projects on the go
Another project KIUC has undertaken, this one without NRECA CRN funding (it was unsuccessful in its application), is an energy storage project on the island, necessitated by the addition of customer-sited PV systems. The co-op currently has approximately 4 MW of customer-sited PV systems throughout the island, with the largest system being 800 kW. So far, Yamane reported at the co-op's last quarterly meeting, there have been no technical issues noticed with the addition of PV to the system.