EnergyScout™

EnergyScout helps stabilize the electric grid and prevents unplanned outages by temporarily reducing energy use from appliances like water heaters and air conditioners, or by temporarily switching large business customers to emergency generators when needed. These brief interruptions typically go unnoticed by participants but help maintain reliable service and support Hawaii’s transition to clean energy. In return, participants receive monthly bill credits for helping out.

The program offers options for residences, small businesses, and large businesses. However, this program is only offered on Oahu and we are currently not accepting new participants.

Note:

• If you would like to be notified if enrollment opens, please email us at energyscout@hawaiianelectric.com to join the interest list.
• Commercial and industrial customers may be eligible for our Fast Demand Response program.

For any questions or concerns:
Phone: (808)947-6937
Email: energyscout@hawaiianelectric.com

Water Heater Control Device Upgrade

We are currently upgrading the water heater control devices for our existing residential and small business participants. In partnership with Honeywell, we are modernizing thousands of devices over the next three years. If you're currently participating in this program, Honeywell will contact you by mail to schedule your upgrade.

At this time, our focus is upgrading devices for existing participants. However, we may be able to enroll new customers in the future, depending on resources. If you’re interested in joining the program when space becomes available, please email us at energyscout@hawaiianelectric.com to be added to the interest list.

Frequently Asked Questions

EnergyScout for Residences and Small Businesses

EnergyScout helps keep the electrical grid stable by briefly shutting off electric water heaters or cycling central air conditioners—typically for no more than one hour at a time. You'll still have access to hot water from your tank, and your AC will continue to operate with slightly shorter run times. Most participants don’t even notice when an event occurs.

Hawaiian Electric provides free installation of the control device on your eligible equipment, along with monthly incentives applied as bill credits:

• Residential participants receive $3 per month for each enrolled water heater or air conditioner.
• Small business participants receive $5 per month per water heater and $5 per ton of enrolled A/C capacity.

At this time, these programs are not accepting new participants. If you'd like to join the interest list, please email energyscout@hawaiianelectric.com.

EnergyScout for Large Businesses

EnergyScout for large business partners including commercial and industrial customers helps Hawaiian Electric to reduce electricity use from designated equipment or shift usage to on-site emergency generators as needed to support the grid.

Participants typically commit between 50 kilowatts and 5 megawatts of curtailable load and receive monthly incentives as bill credits, regardless of whether a demand response event occurs.

Participants may enroll in one of two participation levels:

• Dispatch Only: Customers receive a one-hour notice before reducing load.
• Dispatch + Under Frequency: Along with advance-notice events, your system will automatically curtail designated loads when the grid frequency drops.

We are not accepting new participants at this time. If you're a large customer interested in supporting the grid and earning incentives, we encourage you to explore our Fast Demand Response program.