Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) is the largest supplier of electricity in the U.S. state of Hawaii, supplying power to 95% of Hawaii's population through its electric utilities: Hawaiian Electric Company serving Oahu, Hawai'i Electric Light Company serving The Big Island, and Maui Electric Company serving Maui, Lanai and Molakai. In addition, HEI owns a financial institution serving Hawaii, American Savings Bank, and a clean energy and sustainability company, Pacific Current LLC.[2]
Hawaiian Electric Company (abbreviated HECO and pronounced HEE-coh), Hilo Electric Light Company (later renamed Hawai'i Electric Light Company, abbreviated HELCO and pronounced HEL-coh), and Maui Electric Company (abbreviated MECO and pronounced MEE-coh) employ more than 2,000 people. Approximately 20,000 Hawaii residents are shareholders of HECO’s parent company, Hawaiian Electric Industries.[3] The company is headquartered in Honolulu.
The island of Kauai is the only Hawaiian island not supplied by HEI. Instead, the consumer-owned Kauai Island Utility Cooperative manages that island's electricity.
History
Hawaiian Electric Company incorporated on October 13, 1891.[4] Within about 16 years the utility had 2,500 customers on Oahu. By 1914 HECO had started rural service to the windward side of the island and was marketing electric products like refrigerators and flat irons. In 1937 HECO broke ground on its second power plant, and transmission lines soon crisscrossed Oahu.[5]
War and statehood
During World War II HECO power plants linked to military bases, generating more than one million kilowatt hours of electricity each day. (= > 42 MW average power).
Hawaii became a state in 1959, and by then Oahu was entirely electrified. HECO opened a 116 MW plant in downtown Honolulu in 1954. The state's first reheat steam turbine generator went on line at Kahe on the west coast of Oahu. Today, Kahe is the state's largest plant with a total generating capacity of 650 MW.
Island expansion
HECO purchased Maui Electric Company in 1968. In 1970, HECO acquired the Hawaii Island's Hilo Electric Light Company. In 1988 MECO acquired the Lanai City power plant on the island of Lana'i, and in 1989, Molokai Electric Company on the island of Moloka'i. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) was created as a holding company for these various utilities in 1983.[2] In 2013, HECO began working with Siemens to develop a self-healing grid in eastern Oahu and Waikiki to ensure a reliable electrical supply.[6]
On December 4, 2014, NextEra Energy tendered an offer to purchase HEI for $4.3 billion. The sale required approval by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.[7] On July 18, 2016, it was announced that the merger was cancelled after the Public Utilities Commission disapproved the deal.[8] The merger included plans to convert HEI's oil-fired generating plants to run on natural gas, which were to use liquified natural gas imported from a British Columbia plant of FortisBC. The upgrades were cancelled as they were dependent upon approval of the merger.[9]
On December 24, 2019, HECO announced that it would begin operating under a single name with its subsidiaries MECO and HELCO—Hawaiian Electric.[10]
Maui wildfires
At around midnight on August 8, 2023, a brush fire was ignited in the Kula area in the central part of Maui. This quickly spread all across many parts of Hawaii, causing buildings, houses, businesses, vehicles, and acres of land to be destroyed and burnt. Power lines that were owned by Hawaiian Electric were blown down and over 12,000 people that resided in the Maui area were left without power. As of August 17, 2023, 111 people have died due to the wildfire, more than a thousand people went missing, and thousands more were forced to evacuate Hawaii altogether. Investigations are currently underway to officially determine what caused the fire, and they are currently are looking into whether downed power lines and decisions by Hawaiian Electric were the cause of the deadly wildfires. As a result of the wildfires, much of Hawaii was under a red flag warning for fire risk when the wildfires broke out, particularly with high winds caused by Hurricane Dora, which was a Category 4 hurricane with high speed winds reaching maximum speeds of up to 145 miles per hour.[11]
"A flash drought in the region provided plenty of kindling, and Hurricane Dora brought strong winds to Maui as it passed roughly 500 miles (800 kilometers) south of the Hawaii island chain. Those winds downed at least 30 power poles in West Maui, and Hawaiian Electric had no procedure in place for turning off the grid — a common practice in other fire-prone states. Video shot by a Lahaina resident shows a downed powerline setting dry grasses alight, possibly revealing the start of the larger fire."
After the catastrophic and deadly wildfires, Hawaiian Electric's stock severely plummeted approximately 40%, its lowest since 2010, after it was facing a class action lawsuit that alleged that Maui’s devastating wildfires were caused by the utility’s energized power lines that were knocked down by strong winds, and that it chose not to shut off its power lines ahead of the Maui wildfires, despite knowing the safety risks of sparking a fire in those kind of conditions. It also stated that Hawaiian Electric still refused to shut down power lines despite it knowing that some of its power lines were knocked out by the heavy, high speed winds.[12] On August 23, it was reported that Hawaiian Electric had no procedure in place for turning off the grid — a common practice in other fire-prone states. [13]
Generation
In 2016 HECO produced 8.8 TWh, of which 2.3 TWh were renewable.[14] Most of the power came from oil, using 8.5 million barrels in 2016, down from 10.7 million barrels in 2008.[15]
Hawaiian Electric supports the adoption of electric vehicles. The company's goal is to have the majority of vehicles in Hawaii be electric vehicles by 2045. As of November 2018, EVs were 1% of all vehicles. Hawaiian Electric filed a road map with the state.[16]
Oahu
Oil-fired generators at Hawaiian Electric Kahe Power Plant in Kapolei on the Waianae Coast
HEI's total firm generating capability in 2023 is 1,614.5 megawatts serving 306,978 customers. Non-firm capacity was 987.6 megawatts. In 2022, 28% of power came from renewable resources, compared to 25% in 2020.[17]
Total firm generating capability in 2022 was 273.1 megawatts serving 73,933 customers. Non-firm capacity was 212.2 MW. 35.6% came from renewable resources, compared to 40.8% in 2020.[17]
Total firm generating capability in 2022 was 280.5 megawatts serving 88,757 customers. Non-firm capacity was 168.6 MW. 47.9% came from renewable resources, compared to 34.7% in 2020.
Through a cooperative effort with HECO, High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), an agency of the State of Hawai’i, initiated the Hawai’i Electric Vehicle Demonstration Project (HEVDP) consortium to develop an electric vehicle industry in Hawai’i.[18] The islands had about 5,000 rechargeable vehicles as of 2017.[15]
Hawaiian Electric has indicated in its Power Supply Improvement Plan that it will achieve these goals ahead of schedule.[21] From 2021, HEI transitioned away from cost of service to Performance Based Regulation.[22][23]
US$3.742 billion[1] (2022)
US$241 million[1] (2022)
