PBR Scorecards and Metrics
Affordability
This page contains reported metrics related to affordability, which are further described below:
- Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) Energy Burden Reported Metric
- Payment Arrangement Reported Metric
- Disconnections Reported Metric
LMI Energy Burden Reported Metric
The LMI Energy Burden metric measures how much of a low-income household’s annual income is spent on electricity. Tracking the percentage annually will help customers know if the percentage is increasing or decreasing over time. There are two measures because a household’s spending for electricity can be viewed in terms of how much electricity is consumed (measured in kilowatt hours or kWh) and in terms of the dollar amount a customer is billed. The ‘typical residential bill’ and ‘average residential bill’ are defined as follows:
- A typical residential bill reflects the approximate average household electricity usage or kWh consumption by island (i.e., 500 kWh per month for Oahu, Hawaii Island, and Maui and 400 kWh per month for Lanai and Molokai).
- An average residential bill reflects the average billed revenue per residential customer and is calculated using the company’s accounting records.1
The Hawaii Federal Poverty Limit (FPL) is used to represent the income for a low-income household in the state. The income level corresponding to 150% of the Hawaii FPL is similar to the income threshold for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) eligibility for a family of four.
The changes in the typical and average residential customer bill as a percentage of average income for a low-income household is mainly caused by price fluctuations for the fuel used to generate electricity for our customers.
Please visit our Low Income Programs page for more information.
Metric: Schedule R typical and average annual bill as a percentage of a low-income household’s average income (defined as 150% of the Hawaii FPL), by island
Reporting Frequency: Annual
1 Excludes Schedule TOU-R as this data is administratively burdensome to produce here since this rate is calculated separately.
Please click the button below for historical data (in Excel format).
Payment Arrangement Reported Metric
The Payment Arrangement metric will help generate more information on LMI customers at the zip code level to inform whether programs utilizing a zip code methodology, such as Hawaii Energy’s Accessibility & Affordability program, accurately reflect the most financially burdened and vulnerable communities. The company may also use this data to help direct customer services and outreach efforts.
The graph below provides the company’s payment arrangements for both residential and commercial customers by county. The company calculates the Payment Arrangement metric for each zip code by dividing the total number of payment arrangements in each respective zip code by the total number of customers in each county. For a detailed breakdown of these payment arrangements by zip code please refer to the link below.
The spike in payment arrangements in 2014 was the result of the company updating its customer billing system, which required accommodations to help customers get used to the new system.
Please visit our Payment Assistance page for payment plan options and payment assistance.
Metric: Percentage of customers entered into payment arrangements by customer class by zip code
Reporting Frequency: Annual
Please click the button below for historical data and to view the company’s payment arrangements by customer class by zip code (in Excel format).
Disconnections Reported Metric
Similar to the Payment Arrangement metric, the Disconnections metric is intended to assess how accurately programs utilizing the zip code-level LMI data reflect the locations of financially burdened or disadvantaged customers. The data provided from this metric should enable a better understanding of which zip codes have high disconnection rates for non-payment and can inform where, if necessary, additional programs are needed to address high disconnection rates.
The Payment Arrangement metric can work in conjunction with the Disconnections metric to help identify any disproportionate discrepancy between zip codes that experience heavy disconnection rates and those that are offered payment arrangements. The residential customer class represents Schedule R customers. The commercial customer class represents commercial rate Schedules G, J and P. The graph below provides the company’s disconnections for both residential and commercial customers. For a detailed breakdown of these disconnections by zip code please refer to the link below.
The company calculates the Disconnection metric for each zip code by dividing the total number of disconnections in each respective zip code by the total number of customers for each customer class, residential or commercial.
For a brief explanation of each county’s bar graphs, please click the button below.
Metric: Percent of disconnections for non-payment by customer class by zip code
Reporting Frequency: Annual
Please click the button below for historical data and to view the company’s disconnections by customer class by zip code (in Excel format).
