Land group says utilities
are ‘running amok’
over their lives

By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

Life of the Land and Hawaiian Electric Co. are at odds over whether a public hearing is needed for proposed power lines on existing poles in Pearl City, Aiea and Pearl Harbor.

Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of the Land, thinks the utility is riding roughshod over community interests and needs to be reined in.

"The days of HECO's autocratic control are coming to an end," Curtis said in a strongly worded statement.

"Communities will no longer tolerate their local monopoly running amok over their lives. The Pearl City and Aiea communities deserve to have their voice heard."

But HECO spokesman Chuck Freedman said the utility is just "reinstalling 46-kilovolt lines on poles that had been previously built."

"That's why we don't think we need a public hearing," he said.

HECO has filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission, which has 90 days to review it, Freedman said.

While HECO does not feel a public hearing is necessary, it has asked that one be scheduled should the PUC determine that it is needed, he said.

Ronald Nakanishi, staff engineer with the PUC, said the application was submitted Nov. 4 and "obviously, we have not had a chance to look at it."

"The law says if transmission lines go through residential subdivisions, a public hearing is held before the commission acts on the application," Nakanishi said.

Freedman said HECO now is placing underground utility lines strung on wooden poles makai of Kamehameha Highway in Pearl City. They include electrical distribution lines, as well as telephone, cable TV and street-light lines.

The wooden poles carrying them will be removed once the job is completed, he said.

Freedman said the 46-kilovolt lines were removed during the construction of the existing steel poles, which are designed to carry both 138-kilovolt and 46-kilovolt lines.

The 138-kilovolt lines now are on the steel poles, he said.

"HECO has explained at several public meetings that they will remove the wooden poles and the overhead lines which the wooden poles carry," he said.

"HECO has also explained that the steel poles will carry the 46-kilovolt lines."