The Hawaii Electric Light Co. says awarding a contract for another 50 megawatts of geothermal power will take more time. But how long remains unclear. ADVERTISING The Hawaii Electric Light Co. says awarding a contract for another 50 megawatts of
The Hawaii Electric Light Co. says awarding a contract for another 50 megawatts of geothermal power will take more time. But how long remains unclear.
The utility was initially expecting to make a selection among the six companies that submitted proposals by September.
It later pushed that timeline to the end of November.
That deadline was missed, and HELCO Administration Manager Rhea Lee said Monday that a new date is in the process of being determined.
Whether that could be the end of the month or sometime next year, she was unable to elaborate. Lee also said she could not comment on whether the proposals were too costly or if HELCO was asking for more information from those seeking the contract.
Twenty-five of the 38 mgw of geothermal power HELCO buys from Puna Geothermal Venture, the only existing geothermal plant in the state, is tied to the cost of oil.
PGV, owned by Ormat Technologies, is one of the companies seeking the new contract.
Additionally, HELCO is still talking to some of its independent power producers about renegotiating contracts to detach the cost of buying electricity from the price of oil, Lee said.
Those producers include companies like PGV that sell power to the utility. Lee said she could also not discuss details about those talks.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
