HONOLULU (KHON2) -- An unacceptable increase or a necessary post-pandemic hike is the question for the Public Utilities Commission as Hawaii Gas requests to increase rates for local residents and businesses. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Some are pushing back, however. The president and CEO of Hawaii Gas said they have not increased rates since 2028, well before the pandemic. "The proposed increase works out to the equivalent of about 2.5% per year since our last rate case, which is less than the rate of inflation over the same time period," said Hawaii Gas president and CEO Alicia Moy. “It’s a significant gut punch”: Hawaii faces proposed rate hikes from utility and shipping companies The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs said statewide, that will be more than a 17% increase in revenue over current rates for the company. Local businesses are concerned. "We understand that they have to take some increases from time to time, But this massive amount is really scary for a lot of people," said Michael Miller, Tiki's Bar & Grill director of operations. Residents who pay for their energy through their electric bill might wonder how a gas rate increase might affect them, but customers will have to pay more if restaurants have higher rates. "The consumer needs to pay the difference. You can't expect people to stay in business if they're not making any money. So the challenge is going to be, you can only raise your rates a little at a time being in business or people are just going to stop going out to dinner, stop eating out and doing things like that," Miller said. Moy said the hike is needed with increasing reliance on renewable energy. Hawaii currently has the highest electricity rates in the nation of 33.89 cents compared to the second-highest state, which is Connecticut at 21.1 cents. Alaska comes in at the third-highest rate at 20.53 cents. U.S. Energy Administration data showed around 31% of Hawaii's energy generation was produced by renewables and Hawaii used almost nine times the amount of energy that it produced. "We have committed to do our part to help the state achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045 and are working hard to further decarbonize our fuel mix," Moy said. Check out more news from around Hawaii A timeline on when the rate hikes could be implemented has not been released.