Hawaiian Electric Companies is the first U.S. utility with an approved long-term plan to meet a 100% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goal. On July 14, 2017, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) issued an order permitting Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawai‘i Electric Light to begin implementing near-term steps toward meeting the 100% target by 2045. The commission authorized several actions proposed in Hawaiian Electric Companies’ Power Supply Improvement Plans (PSIP) Update , including competitive procurement of grid scale renewable resources; programs to develop community based renewables, demand response and distributed energy resources; and grid upgrades to enhance reliability.
E3 supported Hawaiian Electric Companies’ stakeholder engagement process by using its RESOLVE model to develop several least cost expansion plans for the islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawai’i. The PUC order commended Hawaiian Electric Companies for using “new planning tools to better address the substantial planning challenges they face” and praised the plan for greater transparency and “high quality stakeholder input.”
