PBR Scorecards and Metrics
Cost Control
This page contains scorecards and reported metrics related to cost control, which are further described below:
- Cost Control for Non-Annual Revenue Adjustment (ARA) Components Scorecard
- Rate Base per Customer Reported Metric
- Operations and maintenance (O&M) Cost per Customer Reported Metric
- Annual Revenue Growth Reported Metric
Cost Control for Non-ARA Components Scorecard
This scorecard provides the annual recorded revenues from the Energy Cost Recovery Clause (ECRC), Purchased Power Adjustment Clause (PPAC), and Major Project Interim Recovery (MPIR)/Exceptional Project Recovery Mechanism (EPRM). The company recovers fuel and purchased energy costs through the ECRC, non-energy purchased power costs through the PPAC, and the costs of certain large projects through the MPIR/EPRM.
As shown in the graphs below, most of these revenues are from the ECRC, which are driven by the fluctuating price of fuel. Hawaiian Electric has no control over the price of fuel and rates are designed so that Hawaiian Electric makes no profit on fuel. That means when the price of fuel goes up the increase is reflected in your bill. But it also means that when the price of fuel goes down, those charges on your bill go down.
Revenues recovered through the ECRC, PPAC, and MPIR/EPRM mechanisms are not part of the company’s ARA revenues and are referred to as Non-ARA Components for purposes of this scorecard. The Annual Revenue Adjustment mechanism, or ARA, determines annual changes in Hawaiian Electric’s revenue levels during a multi-year rate period.
The ARA is determined by a formula that accounts for the effects of inflation, improvements in productivity, special adjustments for events that have a material financial impact but are outside of Hawaiian Electric’s control, and a customer dividend, or “stretch factor,” to immediately share with customers the benefits and cost savings expected to accrue to Hawaiian Electric under the Performance Based Regulation (PBR) Framework. The ARA is more fully described in Hawaiian Electric’s Annual Revenue Adjustment Provision tariff.
ECRC: Recovers eligible fuel and purchased energy expenses and rises or falls monthly in accordance with changes in the cost of purchased energy from independent power producers and in the price of fuel used in the company’s power plants.
PPAC: Recovers expenses and related taxes for non-energy purchased power costs from independent power producers.
MPIR/EPRM: Subject to prior Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approval, Hawaiian Electric is able to recover the costs of certain large projects, such as renewable energy and grid modernization projects, through the MPIR adjustment mechanism and its replacement mechanism, the EPRM.
Metric: Annual sum of ECRC, PPAC, and MPIR/EPRM revenues.
Target: Annual recorded metric compared to base year of 2011, with increases adjusted for inflation.
Reporting Frequency: Annual
Please click the button below for historical data (in Excel format).
Rate Base per Customer Reported Metric
The rate base per customer metric is defined as total rate base divided by total number of customers, by county. In general, rate base consists of investments in assets that are necessary to provide reliable electric service, such as transmission and distribution lines, utility poles, substations, utility-owned generating stations and other utility facilities.
Under traditional ratemaking, rate base provides the basis for determining the level of investment on and of which the company is allowed the opportunity to earn a fair and reasonable return through electric service rates it charges to customers. Under performance based regulation, the company’s revenues and rates are based in part on performance and delinked from the levels of investment during a five year multi-year rate plan, which began in 2021. Rate base would be among the factors considered in resetting rates for the next multi-year rate plan.
Metric: Total rate base ($) per customer for each county.
Reporting Frequency: Annual
Please click the button below for historical data (in Excel format).
O&M Cost per Customer Reported Metric
The utility O&M cost per customer metric is defined as total O&M expenses (excluding fuel and purchased power) divided by total number of customers, by county. O&M expenses are those incurred to operate and maintain Hawaiian Electric utility plant and equipment, such as transmission and distribution lines, electrical poles, substations, power plants and other facilities used to provide electric service.
Under traditional ratemaking, O&M expenses are one of the components of cost used to determine electric service rates the company charges to customers. Under performance based regulation, the company’s revenues and rates are based in part on performance and delinked from the levels of O&M expenses during a five year multi-year rate plan, which began in 2021. The level of O&M expenses would be among the factors considered in resetting rates for the next multi-year rate plan.
Metric: O&M costs ($) per customer for each county.
Reporting Frequency: Annual
Please click the button below for historical data (in Excel format).
Annual Revenue Growth Reported Metric
The annual revenue growth metric provides the level of Target Revenues (total electric revenue minus revenues for fuel and purchase power expenses and applicable revenue taxes) approved by the PUC.
The basis for target revenue is the annualized electric revenue approved by the PUC that is recovered through approved rate schedule charges and through the Revenue Balancing Account (RBA) rate adjustment. Target revenue includes revenue approved in the last decision and order in the county’s most recent test year general rate case but excludes revenue for fuel and purchased power expenses that are recovered through the ECRC or PPAC.
Target revenue also includes other adjustments in accordance with PUC orders such as approved revenues under the EPRM or predecessor MPIR, Earnings Sharing Adjustments and Performance Incentive Adjustments. Target revenue is more fully described in the RBA Provision tariff.
Metric: Rate of annual growth for target revenues compared to inflation, shown as historical record of revenues with the inflation (GDPPI) trend line and showing annual percentage change.1
Reporting Frequency: Annual
1 The graphs show partial year target revenues on Oahu in 2011, and Maui County and Hawaii Island in 2012. They show the percent rate of annual growth and the gross domestic product price index (GDPPI) beginning the year after the first full year of target revenues on Oahu (2013), Maui County (2014) and Hawaii Island (2014).
Please click the button below for historical data (in Excel format).
