Hawaiian Electric Companies implement changes to help more customers add solar photovoltaic systems

Customers are asked to 'call before you install' a PV system

News Release from HECO September 6, 2013

(Honolulu, Hawaii) – Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light Companies are making procedures easier, faster and less expensive for customers seeking to add rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, while continuing to ensure safe and reliable service for all customers.

“Hawaii’s utilities lead the nation in percentage of customers who have PV,” said Scott Seu, vice president for energy resources and operations. “It’s a big contributor to achieving our state’s renewable energy goals and we know it’s an important option for our customers to help reduce their electric bills.

“At the same time, as our customers add more solar systems, circuits on all islands are reaching the level of PV that requires added care to maintain safety and reliability for all customers. But with additional studies and more experience, we are making changes to minimize the times when an interconnection study may be needed and making it as easy as possible for customers in cases when a study is needed.” 

The Hawaiian Electric Companies are changing the threshold so more small systems (10 kW and under) can be added without a potentially costly and time-consuming interconnection study. The new threshold for a possible interconnection study is 100% of the daytime minimum circuit load, increased from 75%. In addition, Hawaiian Electric is doing a limited number of studies on several representative circuits and will apply the results to as many projects as possible on similar circuits.  Previously, each project requiring a study would have to go through its own separate study. This new approach will greatly reduce the number of studies needed and reduce costs to customers.

Hawaiian Electric is also asking all Oahu residential and commercial customers planning to add rooftop solar to call or email the utility before signing a contract or beginning installation. Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light already ask customers to contact them before initiating a solar project, as does Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.

Customers (or contractors on their behalf) should provide a name, address and proposed PV system size (in kilowatts) to the utilities by calling or emailing as follows:

• Oahu: 543-4760 or email nem@heco.com

• Maui, Molokai, Lanai: 871-8461 ext. 2445

• Hawaii Island:  969-0358 or email lvm@helcohi.com

In this way, a customer or contractor can get the most up-to-date status of the circuit on which they propose to add a solar project. Depending on how much PV is on the circuit, the utility may perform a supplemental review at the utility’s expense to determine if a more extensive study is required. Customers or contractors must still submit and get approval for a completed net metering application to connect to the grid and get the financial benefits of net metering. 

“We want to avoid the situation where our customer signs a contract for PV or starts installation and later learns about added costs for studies or circuit upgrades because the circuit already has a high amount of PV,” said Seu. “We are making changes to make adding solar faster, cheaper and fairer, but we do ask customers to call so they have the most current information when making a decision about a very big financial investment in improving their homes or businesses.

“As we continue to monitor circuits and do representative studies we anticipate that it will be possible in the future for even more small systems to go forward without an interconnection requirements study,” Seu said.

Solar installations in Hawaii have doubled yearly since 2008 and are on track to double or nearly so in 2013.  No other utility in the nation has seen this dramatic growth. With more than 32,000 PV systems installed with a capacity of more than 240 megawatts interconnected, Hawaii utilities lead the nation in solar watts per customer and in the percentage of customers who have rooftop solar. 

Background:Too much solar power connected to a circuit without proper protective equipment is dangerous. The resulting back-feed can endanger the lives of utility workers and cause poor electric service, from flickers to outages. Over-voltage from high levels of solar can damage sensitive customer electronics including computers and televisions. Over-voltage can also damage utility lines and transformers. Interconnection studies are performed to identify what types of upgrades can be installed on a circuit to prevent these problems.

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IREC Applauds Hawaiian Utility for Easing Access to Solar Power

News Release from Interstate Renewable Energy Council, September 6, 2013

On September 6,  the Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) announced steps to enable more rooftop solar systems to connect to the grid. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) commends HECO’s announcement and its path-charting model for renewable energy integration.  Since 2010, IREC has been collaborating extensively with Hawaiian utilities and stakeholders on interconnection reform.

“The utility’s new framework will allow more people in Hawai‘i to connect rooftop solar systems more quickly and at lower costs,” said IREC’s attorney Tim Lindl.  “The changes outlined by HECO will enhance the State’s reputation as a shining light for solar energy.”

Copyright 2000 by Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., all rights reserved.

That reputation is well deserved; the amount of solar on the Islands’ electric grids has nearly doubled every year since 2008.  Hawai’i has also eclipsed all but one other state in the country in terms of solar watts installed per capita, according to IREC’s 2012 U.S. Solar Market Trends Report.

While this exponential surge of interest in solar energy is helping the State realize its impressive renewable energy goals, it has also triggered an unprecedented number of interconnection requests for HECO. This high number of requests has caused problems for both the utility and the solar industry.  The utility must conduct an engineering review for each home or business that wishes to install solar generation.  This review ensures the new system will not cause undue problems for nearby customers or the utility’s equipment.  However, as the amount of rooftop solar in an area increases, the engineering review needed becomes more detailed and complex, eventually requiring what is called an Interconnection Requirements Study (IRS).  An IRS can drain utility resources, cause long delays and increase costs for individual projects.

Moreover, an IRS may show that installing solar panels on a particular roof will require certain upgrades to HECO’s equipment.  In Hawai‘i, the costs of these upgrades are mostly borne by the home or business owners installing the solar panels.  These upgrade costs can prohibit projects from moving forward in certain locations or even in entire neighborhoods.

HECO’s announcement shows the utility has gained sufficient experience with rooftop solar to revise when and how its engineering reviews are conducted.  The changes will allow more systems to connect to the grid more quickly without sacrificing safety, reliability or power quality.

In addition, the utility’s announcement implies it may revise the way in which it divides the costs for upgrades to its system. While the utility already allows for the costs of upgrades to be shared by more than one project, the projects must go through the detailed and time-consuming IRS to qualify for cost sharing.  The utility’s new approach promises to allow projects to share costs that have not undergone an IRS.

HECO’s announcement is an important breakthrough. “This announcement is truly cutting edge,” said Lindl.  “Both the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission and HECO continue to show thought leadership on integrating large amounts of solar energy.”

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