The Hawaiian Electric  Cos. said Monday the utilities proposed lower  daytime electrical rates for the Hawaii Department of Education to the state Public Utilities Commission.

If  the proposal is approved by the PUC, participating schools would pay approximately 25 percent less than the average effective energy charge between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Between midnight and 8 a.m. the schools would pay a rate that is the same as the energy charge rate. Between 4 p.m. and midnight, schools would pay above the existing rate.

“There’s been a big push for air conditioning and fans in our public schools so we wanted to find a way to assist in controlling their energy costs as they add this equipment,” Jim Alberts, HECO senior vice president for customer service, said in an announcement.

The utilities said the program could help public schools manage their electricity costs as they add more air conditioning and cooling equipment. HECO said the rates were designed to encourage more electricity use during the hours of the day when solar is adding more electricity to the grid.

“Our goal in proposing these rates is to give the Department of Education the opportunity to expand air conditioning in classrooms across the state with a tool to manage the increase in electricity use that could really hit a school’s utility budget,” Alberts said. “These schools are supported by our tax dollars. Giving schools greater control over their electric bills will allow more money to pay for education and other priorities.”

HECO said the Department of Education would have saved about 9 percent on electrical bills for the 12 months that ended in June had the proposed rates been in effect.

“The department has been working on a number of ways to effectively cool schools,” Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said. “The time-of-use rate proposed by HECO would enable us to move forward on air-conditioning projects while managing energy costs as well as foster responsible energy usage.”

Each of the 240 public schools in HECO’s service territories on Hawaii island, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Oahu will have the option to take advantage of the new rates.

HECO said it is asking the PUC to allow these rates to go into effect by Jan. 5 and stay in effect for 10 years.

Complying with a recent order from the PUC, the utility also is developing time-of-use rate proposals that other customers will be able to take advantage of to help manage their energy costs. Those proposals will be submitted to the PUC this month.

Monitoring electricity use

>> Super off-peak hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 25 percent less than the recent average effective energy charge

>> Off-peak hours, midnight to 8 a.m., the same rate as the existing energy charge rate

>> On-peak hours, 4 p.m. to midnight, above the existing energy charge rate