Kauai Island Utility Cooperative

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative was formed when a group of local businesspeople purchased Connecticut-based Citizens Communications Kauai Electric in November of 2002. KIUC is one of Americas newest electric cooperative; one of approximately 900 electric cooperatives serving electric consumers in 48 states. KIUC operates as a not-for-profit organization that is owned by its members and governed by an elected board of directors. KIUCs location presents some unique challenges that make it different from its sister cooperatives on the mainland. While most co-ops purchase electricity from large coal-fired power plants and huge hydroelectric power stations that can be hundreds of miles away, KIUC must generate all of its power on the island of Kauai. As of 2010, 92 percent of KIUCs power came from generating plants that are powered by imported fossil fuels which is less efficient and more expensive than mainland power sources available to most co-ops. In an effort to reduce its powe...