Power outage damage intolerable
Once again, during calm weather, the community of Waikoloa has been subjected to another power outage. Of course Hawaii Electric Light Co. will claim no responsibility for broken appliances, fried computers or, in my case, another blown UV light and transformer for my pond. The cost last time was $283.50 on July 15 to replace it. HELCO denied any culpability for the claim.
Cindy Evans, our state representative, urged me to attend the meeting, in the middle of July 2014, which I did. No one else attended in the half hour I was there. I observed the shredded electric cables laid many years ago without the benefit of conduit, apparently contributing to the constant power outages, but no, they were not going to work to replace such near my street. The night I attended the meeting, the power, once again, on a perfectly still night, went out twice, 10 minutes each time. West Hawaii Today made mention of it in the edition the next day. One of HELCO’s representatives at the meeting claimed no knowledge of this.
I have had a neighbor try to claim $800 for lost food and an upright freezer. No, it’s not HELCO’s fault. I lost the panel on my two-year-old dishwasher and refrigerator that time. Again, no, not HELCO’s fault. I am told by HELCO the problem exists because it is trying to deal with so much off-grid power, which is not a reliable consistent source of power, thus the surges and power outages.
HELCO has spent a lot of money on new logos, vehicles and some pretty pricey wages and administrative salaries. We, the captive consumer, support all this.
Please David Ige, the head of the Public Utilities Commission and our elected officials, could you intervene on behalf of the public. This is an intolerable situation.
Gwyneth Wrixon
Waikoloa
Fish collecting is a legitimate business
While I certainly would not want to add my name to the ongoing debate of aquarium fish collecting, in his letter to West Hawaii Today, Dennis Gregory obviously is wrong in his statement of “Aquarium collectors are conning us into thinking it is a legitimate business.”
These fishermen have invested tens of thousands of dollars into their businesses by buying boats, storage systems, etc. They pay fees to maintain their licenses, and they pay taxes.
Regardless of one agreeing or disagreeing about aquarium fishing, we all have to agree it’s a legitimate business.
John S. Rabi
Kailua-Kona