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It is a well-known assumption that most residents of Maui want to keep this island paradise as green and beautiful as possible, and one way to help accomplish that is with the use of solar power. But regulations of the Maui Electric Company make that very difficult.

Many ratepayers have scrapped plans for a solar electric system because of the stiff fees required by the Maui Electric Company. Before they will grant permission to individuals seeking to install solar panels on their property, they are required by the Maui Electric to pay an excessive fee for what the electric company refers to as “A study for a further engineering analysis”.

When I applied to Maui Electric Co. for permission to install solar, they demanded that I pay a fee of $3,000 in order for me to get their approval to put PV solar panels on my roof. After a long period of waiting for them to approve my project, I finally gave up and decided to take them to the Hawaii PUC commission by appeal.

Those greedy people could not justify their position and had to grant my appeal. It was the first ever successful challenge of their attempt to get an exorbitant gate-opening fee for no supportable reason.

The appeal submitted was very complete, and well done. It made them look like what they are — greedy.

In addition, I suspect the whole idea of an appeal, and the information included in it, was making them look like fools with the departments involved. And, being made fools at the PUC was certainly contrary to their position of power, and keeping their public looks up to par.

The local PUC office told me that it would be impossible for me to get Maui Electric Company to give in and approve my appeal application. It had never happened before. I had to go out on a limb, completely alone, to do the appeal, and to have them finally back down was an amazing accomplishment.

This was the first time a Maui Resident ever got them to relax their attempt to force payment of an excessively high fee before they would approve the resident’s permit to install residential electric solar. After I submitted all the forms and won my appeal for eliminating their $3,000 fee, they notified me that after further engineering analysis, the interconnection requirement study was no longer needed for my NEM solar installation project.

Now, after their withdrawal of the required fee, and their pre-approval of my solar project, my dilemma is how to give my story to the public. I want every resident of Maui who wishes to further the use of solar electricity on our beautiful island, not be discouraged, or blocked from permission to install it.

When a gatekeeper fee is demanded by the Maui Electric Company for homeowner’s solar installation, residents should be aware that an appeal on their behalf is worth submitting. This can be done by filing an appeal to the Hawaii PUC. Appeal forms are available online, or by a phone request to the HPUC.

It took me a lot of work to overcome the appeal process. Even the PUC at first thought me and my appeal awkward as no one had ever done it before — but it worked. I hope my appeal success will encourage other Maui Residents not to give up on seeking approval for installing solar power systems.

About the authors: Bill Blietz has been a resident of Maui since 1977. He is the owner of Blietz Wailea Orchids, a resident of Pukalani, and is currently the president of the homeowner’s association of the Cottages at Kulamalu. Norma Jeanne Strobel is a retired college professor, writer, editor and e-book cover designer. She and Bill are currently co-authoring op-eds, and an e-book on the orchid world thru the eyes of legendary orchid grower Roy Fukumura and Blietz.