State urged to
halt HECO plans for
Waahila Ridge

Its environmental report
lists camouflage and other
ideas for power poles

By Craig Gima
Star-Bulletin

Environmentalists and others opposed to power lines on Waahila Ridge are appealing to Gov. Ben Cayetano and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to reject a final environmental impact statement on the proposed Hawaiian Electric Co. project.

"Why do we need this project?" asked Henry Curtis of Life of the Land.

Curtis said the project would not have prevented any of the last three major blackouts on Oahu.

HECO, however, said the project will make the utility's system more reliable for 54 percent of its customers in East and Windward Oahu, and would have prevented a blackout that took place during the 1987 Superbowl.

HECO is planning to run a 138,000-volt line along an existing, smaller transmission line along Waahila Ridge to the Pukele substation in Palolo Valley.

The company wants to replace 40- to 60-foot wooden poles with 20 steel towers at heights of 70 to 100 feet.

About 1.5 miles of the line -- from the Kamoku Substation at Date and Kamoku streets to the base of the ridge -- will be underground.

The company is looking into the possibility of painting the steel poles to help them blend with the background, landscaping to partially screen some poles, and relocating others to lessen the visual impact.

"We recognize the visual concerns are very subjective," said HECO spokesman Chuck Freedman. "It's impossible to satisfy everybody."

But Freedman said the company is making a good-faith effort to reduce the impact of the steel poles.

In the environmental report, the company also said putting the lines on the ridge will reduce exposure to electric and magnetic fields because they will be away from populated areas.

The project is estimated to cost $31 million and will take about 18 months to complete. If HECO gets the necessary approvals, construction could begin as early as next year.

Running the entire project underground would mean a 28 percent to 51 percent increase in cost, the company said. Freedman said the costs could be passed on to rate payers. Project Manager Kerstan Wong said it is too early to say if the current estimated cost of the project will mean a rate increase.

The impact statement was prepared as part of the process to get a conservation use permit from the Board of Land and Natural Resources. If the state accepts the report, a public hearing will be held on HECO's application, probably next year.

The utility also needs approvals from the Public Utilities Commission and the city.

Mayor Jeremy Harris has vowed to veto any request for changes to planning documents.