Hawaiian Electric

We’re your neighbors. We’re your friends. We’re your family. In the fifth video from our series “The People of Hawaiian Electric," West Maui Community Liaison Mikey Burke talks about her kuleana to the people of Lahaina. Born and raised in Olowalu, she serves as a voice for West Maui and works closely with community members in our rebuilding efforts. To hear more stories from our employees, visit https://lnkd.in/g23mwrsK

The number of private rooftop solar systems on our grids continued to grow in 2024, boosting the total number of systems to nearly 114,000 across the five islands we serve. The addition of 7,976 solar systems in 2024, most of which are residential, brought the total number of grid-connected solar systems to 113,999, a 7.5% increase over 2023. Solar generating capacity, which includes residential, commercial and grid-scale systems, rose to 1,410 megawatts, a 13% increase over 2023. “It’s encouraging to see the growth of solar continue its upward trajectory as we work with customers and stakeholders to help Hawaii achieve its clean energy goals,” said Kaiulani Shinsato, Hawaiian Electric Customer Energy Resources co-director. “We introduced a new Smart Renewable Energy program in 2024 designed to make it easier for customers to add rooftop solar and battery storage.” Hawaii has among the highest rates of rooftop solar adoption in the nation. Some 26% of our residential customers and 43% of our customers in single-family homes have rooftop solar. Smart Renewable Energy is the latest phase in our push to bring more customer-sited renewable energy onto the grid in a fair and sustainable way. More information about our Smart Renewable Energy program is available at https://lnkd.in/gWrQPWHd. To read the full news release, visit https://lnkd.in/gEHkYeWm

Today is Global Recycling Day! Recycling conserves energy because it reduces the need to produce raw materials and new products from scratch. We will be holding a free e-waste collection and recycling drive-thru for the public on Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., at 820 Ward Avenue, across Blaisdell Center. During the event, we will accept the following items: • Batteries (UPS, alkaline, lead acid) • Computers (desktop, laptop, monitors) and IT peripherals • Cell phones • Hard drives • Power cords • Printers • TVs (flat screen or CRT) Please do not bring cooking appliances, electric personal items, floor fans and vacuums, stereo equipment and speakers, hazardous materials, construction and demolition waste and Christmas lights and lightbulbs. The electric vehicle charging stations at our Ward Baseyard will remain accessible during the e-waste event. Makai-bound traffic along Ward Ave. may experience delays. For more information about e-waste, call (808) 232-2000 or visit www.eopala.com.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Along with wearing green, celebrating St. Patty’s Day with corned beef has been a longstanding tradition. If you’re looking for a recipe to celebrate today in true St. Patty’s Day fashion, check out this Baked Mustard Corned Beef recipe from “The Electric Kitchen” on our website, at: https://lnkd.in/gsrtB5VQ

A big shout out to the Campbell High School FIRST Robotics Team on capturing the regional winner title with alliance teams EPIC Robotz and NOMAD at the recent Orange County Regional Competition in Costa Mesa, CA, where the Saber Dynamics also captured the Gracious Professionalism Award for demonstrating FIRST’s core values on and off the field! Even more exciting, due to their overall performance, the Saber Dynamics team has the potential to advance to the FRC World Championships in Houston this April. Whoo hoo! From the team, “Our performance at the Orange County Regional would not have been possible without Hawaiian Electric’s support.” Aww, another shout out to all the teams’ sponsors and a hearty congratulations and good luck to Saber Dynamics! Photo credit: James Campbell High School FIRST Robotics Team

On Saturday, March 8, 2025, our employees on Oahu volunteered at the MATHCOUNTS Foundation Hawaii State Competition. Intermediate school students from across Hawaii gathered to compete, and our volunteers helped with scoring their answer sheets. Mahalo to our employees who volunteered at the event, and congratulations to the four students from Washington Middle School who will be representing Hawaii at the national competition in Washington, D.C.!

Happy Pi Day! Pi plays an essential role in calculating the frequency and wavelength of electrical currents, but it’s also a great reason to eat pie! If you’re celebrating today by baking your own pie, The Electric Kitchen has various recipes to try out: https://lnkd.in/ghVryjyf

Happy throwback Thursday! On Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, we celebrated the 25th Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED) with STEMworks! STEMworks hosted girls from intermediate schools across Maui for a day of learning with our engineers at Hawaiian Electric. Several of our engineers shared about their roles in the field and guided the students through hands-on engineering activities! Our engineers have been participating in STEMworks’ IGED every year since its inception in 2000. Presented by Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., StemWorks' IGED was designed to increase interest in engineering among young girls in Hawaii. Thank you to our employees who participated! A special mahalo to Kim Vaituulala, our control center superintendent on Maui, for helping to coordinate the event’s activities.

On Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, our engineers celebrated #NationalEngineersWeek at Hawaii State Public Library System's NASA@My Library Engineering Bash, where some of Hawaii Island’s most talented students and professionals gathered to share all their engineering insights! Mahalo to our employees Bryant Komo, and twins Caralyn and Leanne King for sharing your knowledge about circuits and electrical safety with the community!

In partnership with IBEW1260, our employees on Oahu joined over 50 other organizations and utilities at the 10th Annual Touch a Truck event on Saturday, March 8, 2025. Keiki had the opportunity to explore the inside of our line and bucket trucks, meet some of our frontline crew members, and try on their protective gear! Mahalo to everyone who attended the event, including our employees who helped run our booth. Photo credit: Todd Mayeshiro