Hawaiian Electric seeks community comment on ‘pathway to clean energy future’

Hawaiian Electric has drafted a plan outlining steps the company will take in the coming years to ensure its system will achieve net zero carbon emissions and use 100% local, renewable resources.

Hawaiian Electric – which provides electricity on the islands of O‘ahu, Maui, Hawai‘i, Lanai and Molokai – has filed its draft “Integrated Grid Plan: A pathway to a clean energy future” with the State of Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission.

Community members will be able to review the full Integrated Grid Plan and provide comments
over the next three weeks, until April 21. All received comments will be included and addressed
in the final version of the Integrated Grid Plan, scheduled for filing in May 2023.

“Integrated grid planning is a collective process of balancing technical data with our customer
and community values,” said Colton Ching, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president of planning
and technology.

“This thorough planning process provided Hawaiian Electric and our customers a clear plan forward to meeting our state’s clean energy goals while keeping reliability and affordability top of mind,” Ching continued. “Comments from the community will help us refine our actions and focus areas for the next several years.”

The draft plan proposes defined actions and includes details on technical findings and
community engagement throughout the planning process. Since 2018, Hawaiian Electric has
collected data and gained insight through various working groups, inputs and assumptions
modeling, regular stakeholder meetings, community events and presentations.

The draft Integrated Grid Plan identifies four high-level actions that must be taken within the
next five years, according to Hawaiian Electric:

• Stabilize utility rates and advance energy equity
• Grow the marketplace for customer-scale and large-scale renewables
• Create a modern and resilient grid
• Secure reliability through diverse energy sources and technologies

To view and comment on the draft Integrated Grid Plan, go to Hawaiipowered.com/igpreport/.