Hawaii County water consumers will have the opportunity to speak out on a proposed decrease to the power cost charge.
Users currently pay $3.04 per 1,000 gallons of water and, if the proposed decrease is approved, would pay $2.70 for the same amount.
With the proposed 34-cent decrease, a family of five, which consumes on average about 12,000 gallons of water per month, will see its bimonthly water bill decrease by $8.16.
A public hearing is set for March 28, and will be held just before the Water Board’s monthly meeting that usually starts at 10 a.m.
The power cost charge change does not impact the department’s revenue as the money collected goes to Hawaiian Electric to cover the electrical cost of transporting water to county customers. The charge may be adjusted every two months as the price of oil, and therefore the price of moving water to customers, changes.
The cost charge was last changed Jan. 1 when consumers saw it increase from $2.87 to $3.04 per 1,000 gallons. In November 2022, the rate was increased from $2.75 per 1,000 gallons to $2.87.
Last March, water users were paying $2.02 per 1,000 gallons.