THE SPIKE.
KIMBERLEE SPEAKMAN REPORTS.
KIMBERLEE SPEAKMAN: "SOME HECO
CUSTOMERS SAY THEY WERE SHOCKED
TO SEE THEIR BILL FOR MAY...SOME
PAYING DOUBLE THAN THE PREVIOUS
MONTH. I SPOKE WITH HECO TO FIND
OUT WHY."
HECO SAYS THEY SCALED BACK ON
METER READINGS FROM LATE MARCH
TO EARLY MAY DUE TO COVID-19.
SHANNON TANGONAN, HECO
SPOKESWOMAN: "WE WANTED TO MAKE
SURE THAT WE WEREN'T
OVER-ESTIMATING, SO WE USED
PRIOR USAGE
AS OUR BASE FOR ESTIMATING."
SHE SAYS THAT'S WHY ELECTRICITY
BILLS FOR MARCH AND APRIL ARE
SIMILAR.
BUT IF YOU ENDED UP USING MORE
ELECTRICITY DURING THAT
TIME...THEY'RE NOW CHARGING YOU
FOR THAT IN ADDITION TO YOUR
REGULAR BILL.
SHANNON TANGONAN, HECO
SPOKESWOMAN: "THE ESTIMATIONS
THAT WERE MADE SOMETIMES WEREN'T
NOW PAYING FOR ELECTRICITY THAT
WAS ACTUALLY USED DURING THE
TIME PERIOD THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE
TO READ METERS."
SHE SAYS THE STAY AT HOME ORDER
DURING THIS TIME LIKELY PLAYED A
CHARGES. HECO STAFF WENT BACK TO
CHECKING ELECTRICITY METERS AT
HOMES ON MAY 11TH. SINCE THEN
GONE BACK TO NORMAL. AND WHILE
THERE'S A SPIKE IN CHARGES FOR
MAY, SHE SAYS YOU CAN EXPECT
YOUR BILL TO RETURN TO
NORMAL IN JUNE OR EVEN SEE A
DECREASE.
SHANNON TANGONAN: "THROUGH THE
SUMMER THEY'LL SEE LOWER BILLS
BECAUSE OIL PRICES ARE LOWER,
AND SO THAT WILL AFFECT OUR
RATES."
WITH SOME STILL UNEMPLOYED AND
UNABLE TO PAY THE FULL BILL. SHE
SAYS THEY'RE ALSO ALLOWING
PAYMENT PLANS.
SHANNON TANGONAN: "IF YOU HAVE
THIS HUGE SPIKE IN YOUR BILL,
WE'LL WORK WITH YOU TO SPREAD
THAT OUT OVER THAN A MONTH IF
YOU NEED. WE
ENCOURAGE CUSTOMERS TO CONTACT
US, AND WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK
THROUGH ANY ISSUES THEY MIGHT BE
HAVING."
KIMBERLEE SPEAKMAN: "TANGONAN
SAYS THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT
THEM IS THROUGH THEIR WEBSITE,
WHERE YOU CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS.
BUT YOU
CAN ALSO CALL AS WELL. WE'LL
HAVE THAT INFORMATION UP ON OUR
WEBSITE, KHON2-DOT-COM.
KIMBERLEE SPEAKMAN, KHON2 NEWS
WORKING
FOR HAWAII".
HOWARD:
A BIG JUMP IN COVID-19 CASES
TODAY.
THE STATE REPORTED NINE
CASES...THAT INCLUDES THREE
