Aloha!
We’re excited to let our KumuKit™ customers know about a brand new opportunity from the electric utility called the HECO Battery Bonus Program. It is a Scheduled Dispatch Program (SDP), which will be of particular interest to you if you are thinking of installing a new system or installed your PV system under legacy programs (Net Energy Metering (NEM), Customer Grid Supply (CGS), etc.).
Under the new Battery Bounus program, current customers are now able to install additional solar PV generation, plus a new energy storage system (batteries) without affecting your existing agreement with Hawaiian Electric!
HECO is calling this new program the “Battery Bonus” Program, and to encourage participation, HECO is offering a very attractive, upfront battery incentive payment made to you, to help offset the cost of the batteries! The icing on the cake? Your new PV + battery system is eligible for Federal and Hawaii State solar tax credits, just like your original PV system! The current (2022) tax credits are 26% for Federal and 35% for State.
If your PV system was not purchased under the NEM tariff, this program may be valuable to you as well, though the process will likely be a bit different. We continue to explore the finer details of this program. You can learn more now in this comparison of underlying tariffs. We will update this information as we optimize KumuKit™ configurations to make the most of this opportunity under various tariffs outside of NEM.
Word about the HECO Battery Bonus Program is getting around quickly through the coconut wireless, and misinformation is bound to travel fast. We want our current and potential KumuKit™ customers to get the best and most accurate information possible. We’ll do our best to keep you informed.
We anticipate that this Battery Bonus program will be hugely popular, not only with our own KumuKit™ customers, but also with the thousands of customers from other local solar contractors vying for this opportunity. If you are interested and wish to opt-in early in this program, please contact us to start a no-pressure, no-obligation system proposal for you. Note that the HECO Battery Bonus Program has a capacity limit set by Hawaiian Electric and the incentive payment amounts reduce over time.
Mahalo!
Enrollment Period: Customers may sign up for the SDP until capacity reaches the Battery Bonus program limit or until June 20, 2023, whichever comes first, unless otherwise ordered by the Commission. Enrollment in the SDP is a ten-year commitment, the Initial Phase of which will end after December 31, 2023 (6 months to 30 months of Initial Phase commitment). Following the close of the initial phase on December 31, 2023, the final program phase will commence and will last the remaining period of the customer’s participation agreement up to ten total years.
Program Start Date: Enrollment in the HECO Battery Bonus Program/Scheduled Dispatch Program is anticipated to start on July 1, 2021.
Next Steps and Your Participation: Although the details of the program are still being finalized, we hope this initial information was helpful.
References:
Public Utilities Commission: Decision and Order
Energy Information Administration: Hawaii State Profile and Energy Estimates