Electricity rates in Hawaii

Hawaii's electricity is produced on each island separately: there are no cables linking the islands to one another or to the mainland, so every island runs its own grid. Hawaiian Electric serves Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii Island under the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, while Kauai is served by the member-owned Kauai Island Utility Cooperative. There is no retail choice.

Generation historically depended on imported petroleum, but solar now supplies a large and growing share, alongside wind, some geothermal on Hawaii Island and biomass, and state law commits the islands to entirely renewable electricity. Rooftop solar is more common than almost anywhere else in the country; traditional net metering closed to new customers years ago, and the programs that replaced it reward self-consumption and home batteries. The mild tropical climate means little heating and only moderate air-conditioning use.