Hawaiian Electric’s one-year, pilot “shift and save” program is underway for about 16,000 customers on Oahu and Hawaii island randomly selected to test “time of use” rates. These rates are lower for those who shift energy use to daytime hours, when power is not in such high demand.

It’s expected that the more use is concentrated within low-demand hours, the more money will be saved on an electric bill. As customers adjust, HECO has created a bill protection credit for the first six months, capping residential bill increases at $10 and commercial bill increases at 4% of the previous rate. Any HECO customer not selected for the trial can enroll, but must have special meters installed.