Solar survey blisters HECO

Hawaiian Electric Co. and its sister utilities did not fare well in a new opinion poll that showed 9 out of 10 residents in their service areas believe the companies have slowed rooftop solar installations to protect their profits.

The poll, commissioned by a group of national solar companies, also found strong support for solar energy as a way to combat Hawaii’s high electricity prices and move the state toward energy independence.

The survey was conducted by Honolulu-based polling firm SMS, and paid for by the Alliance for Solar Choice, whose members include SolarCity, Solar Universe, Sungevity, Sunrun and Verengo.

Of the 405 adults in Oahu, Maui and Hawaii counties who participated in the Web-based poll, 90 percent said they strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that their electric utility "is slowing rooftop solar growth to protect its profits."

Hawaiian Electric Co. serves Oahu, while its Maui Electric Co. and Hawaii Electric Light Co. affiliates serve Maui County and Hawaii County, respectively.

A little more than half of those surveyed said they had a favorable opinion of the HECO companies, while 95 percent said they had a favorable view of solar energy companies.

When asked about their attitude toward solar energy usage, 94 percent of those surveyed said Hawaii should have more homes with rooftop photovoltaic systems. Just 2 percent said there should be fewer PV systems and 4 percent said the current levels were adequate.

"While it should be a point of pride that Hawaii has the highest solar per capita in the country, it shouldn’t give us any reason to slow down," said Jon Yoshimura, Hawaii spokesman for the TASC and director of government affairs for SolarCity in Hawaii. "The people of Hawaii clearly want and expect more rooftop solar, and are looking to both HECO and to policymakers to advance policies that help increase access for homes and businesses," he said.

A HECO spokesman said an increase in solar installations does not affect the utility’s revenue stream due to a new rate-setting mechanism called "decoupling."

"Contrary to common misconception, our utilities do not lose revenue when customers install rooftop solar on homes and business," HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg said in an email. "Under the method now used to set electric rates, we’re able to recover costs incurred to serve all customers who remain connected to the grid, including PV customers who use the grid daily. So our policies on rooftop solar are not about the financial impact on the utility.

"That said, we understand the frustrations of customers in neighborhoods with especially high levels of PV who aren’t able to add new systems as quickly as they hoped. We’re committed to supporting rooftop solar in a way that ensures safe and reliable service to all customers. That’s the fundamental responsibility we owe to all our customers and we cannot back away from that."

Hawaii residents and businesses installed a record 146 megawatts of solar generating capacity last year, a 34 percent increase over the previous record of 109 megawatts in 2012. However, the 2013 increase was a far cry from annual growth rates of 169 percent in 2012 and 118 percent in 2011. And industry experts say Hawaii could actually experience a decrease in PV installations in 2014.

The HECO companies are concerned that excessive amounts of solar energy being generated by rooftop PV systems could have an adverse effect on their electrical grids. HECO officials have been incrementally increasing the amount of solar energy generating capacity in highly saturated neighborhoods, but critics say the utility is moving too slowly.