| Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative | |
| Type: | Cooperative |
| Foundation: | 1905 (as Kauaʻi Electric) November 1, 2002 (formed as a cooperative) |
| Location: | Līhuʻe, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, United States |
| Key People: | Allan A. Smith, Chairman David Bissell, CEO |
| Num Employees: | 145 |
| Industry: | Electric utility |
| Revenue: | $154.9 million[1] |
| Revenue Year: | 2019 |
| Products: | Electricity |
| Footnotes: | Affiliation: Touchstone Energy |
Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) is an electric cooperative located on the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi. With roughly 38,695 member-owners represented by a nine-member board of directors, it is the only electric cooperative in the state of Hawaii.[2]
In the 1970s, Kauaʻi burned sugar cane waste to supply most of their electricity.
, the majority of the Kauaʻi's electricity was produced by importing liquid petroleum, costing $69.3 million in 2006 and $83 million in 2007.[3] By 2011, 92% of KIUC's power came from petroleum.[4]
As of 2019, KIUC's fuel mix was 47.2% fossil fuels, 10.5% hydroelectric, 9.9% biomass and 32.5% solar.[5] KIUC has successfully integrated large-scale solar into its grid so that, during daylight hours on most days, 100 percent of its generation comes from renewable sources.[6] In March 2017, KIUC commissioned a 13 MW solar and 13 MW / 52 MWh battery project[7] for 13.9¢/kWh.[4] In December 2018, KIUC commissioned a 28 MW solar and 20 MW / 100 MWh battery is priced at 11¢/kWh.[8] A proposed solar-charged water pumping system will supply power throughout the night.[9]
Kauaʻi Electric was incorporated in 1905 as a subsidiary of McBryde Sugar in order to construct a 2.4 MW hydroelectric plant on the Wainiha River. Kauaʻi Electric merged with Lihue Plantation's Waiahi Electric Company early in the 1950s. Kauaʻi Electric became a division of Citizens Utilities Company in 1969. In the late 1990s, Citizens Utilities announced its intentions to divest from the electric utility business and a group of business leaders from Kauaʻi joined to found the Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative in 1999. KIUC purchased Kauaʻi Electric Company on 1 November 2002 for $215 million.[10]
In December 2009, KIUC participated in hearings regarding its plan to minimize the effects its operations have on three endangered Hawaiian birds, the ʻuaʻu, the ʻaʻo, and the band-rumped storm-petrel.[11]