HECO Continues EV Fast Charger Program

Hawai’i Electric Light courtesy photo of Hilo EV Fast Charge Station.

The Hawaiian Electric Companies have gained approval to continue the DC Fast Charger program designed to encourage ownership of plug-in electric vehicles (EV) in Hawai‘i.

The Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission approved the companies’ request to extend two EV pilot charging rates for five more years.

Over 5,000 electric vehicles are registered in the state and auto makers continue to add new models. HECO now has a dozen EV Fast Chargers in operation across their service territories to support EV drivers and make it easier for private companies to host a public fast charger that can bring a conventional EV battery from “empty” to an 80% charge in about 30 minutes.

The commission extended the rates and asked Hawaiian Electric to calculate new cost schedules for:

• Commercial Public Electric Vehicle Charging Service (EV-U) that allows HECO to operate up to 25 publicly accessible DC fast charge facilities across Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu and Maui County
• Commercial Public Electric Vehicle Charging Facility Service (EV-F) that makes it more attractive financially for businesses to install public fast chargers metered separately from other uses.

In approving the extension, the commission said the fast charger program aligns with clear state objectives to support EV adoption and reduce fossil fuel use in transportation and that EVs can be a tool for expanded energy efficiency and load control programs to help manage grid operations and distributed resources such as private rooftop solar.

Information on electric vehicle ownership is available online or by calling (808) 543-GOEV (4638).

For information from the State Energy Office’s EV program, visit electricvehicle.hawaii.gov.