Hearing set on HECO’s
East Oahu proposal

Underground lines are planned
from McCully to Kakaako

Hawaiian Electric Co.'s plans for its East Oahu Transmission Project will be the subject of a state Public Utilities Commission hearing Wednesday in the state Capitol. The 6 p.m. hearing will be held in the lower-level auditorium.

HECO proposes installing 46-kilovolt underground transmission lines in Kakaako, Moiliili, Ala Moana and McCully. The utility says the lines will increase Oahu's electric power reliability by allowing electricity to be sent to East Oahu along an alternative corridor in case there is an outage in existing transmission corridors.

If the PUC approves the $59 million project and rate increase to pay for it, a typical monthly household electric bill will go up by about $1, HECO says.

The project is divided into two phases. Phase 1 would run from the Makaloa substation at Amana and Makaloa streets, along Makaloa, Kalakaua Avenue and Fern and Lime streets to the McCully substation at Pumehana. Phase 2 would run from the Archer substation on Cooke Street to Young and McCully streets.

HECO says construction can be conducted during non-peak traffic hours and at night to minimize the economic impact on area businesses.

The East Oahu Transmission Project was proposed after the state Board of Land and Natural Resources rejected in 2002 the use of Waahila Ridge for a 138-kilovolt overhead transmission line.

An executive summary of HECO's draft Environmental Assessment of the project and information about obtaining the full report are available at www.heco.com.