Battery Bonus

Battery Bonus provides incentives to residential and commercial customers on Oahu and Maui. These incentives are given to encourage customers to add energy storage to their existing or new rooftop solar systems. By doing so, it helps Hawaii move closer to its goal of using 100% clean energy for electricity by 2045 and supports the shift from fossil fuels to renewable-based generation. The program's rules can be found in Rule 31.

Several factors should be taken into account when considering this program. If your main goal is to lower your current electricity bill, you should evaluate how long it will take for the savings from the added generating capacity and/or battery to cover the installation costs. However, if your motivation is to contribute to cleaner energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the program's intrinsic value becomes more important.

You are eligible for the Battery Bonus program if you are a new or existing residential or commercial customer with rooftop solar and a battery storage system charged from on-site solar generation. This applies to customers enrolled in Hawaiian Electric's NEM, CSS, CGS, CGS+, SE, or SIA programs.

Customers with an existing solar system and are presently enrolled in a customer energy program (such as Net Energy Metering, Customer Grid Supply, or others) can receive full benefits from these programs. A customer must install a battery of any size and may add new panels as long as the additional PV capacity is not more than twice the battery size.

Please note that projects with equipment installed prior to July 1, 2021 on Oahu and June 1, 2022 on Maui are not eligible.

There are three types of incentives in the Battery Bonus program:

1. One-time check: You will receive $850 per kilowatt (kW) of committed capacity. For example, if you commit 5 kW, you'll get a $4,250 bonus. The payment will be made after your project is installed, operational, and contracts are signed. The incentive check will be sent within 30 days from the date of the executed contract email. The one-time incentive check will be reduced by any outstanding charges on your electric bill.
2. Monthly capacity bill credit: You will receive $5 per kW per month of committed capacity. This credit will reduce your minimum bill cost and lasts for 10 years from the enrollment start date (the first day of the approved 7-day data file). This monthly bill credit started in June 2022 for all participants and is not retroactive for energy storage systems in place before that date. Any unused credits will be issued in the form of a check at the end of every year.
3. Monthly export bill credit for non-Net Energy Metering (NEM) program customers is calculated as follows:Credit = [(Sum of non-fuel energy charges and all per-kWh charges, using rates at the beginning of each calendar quarter) - (Non-NEM, Distributed Energy Resources (DER) tariff export rate per kWh)] * Committed Capacity (kW) * 70% * 2 hours * 30 days. This fixed credit expires after three years from the enrollment start date. This credit started in July 2022 and is not retroactive for energy storage systems in place before that date. Any unused portion of the credit will be zeroed out at the end of every year. The credit is not cashable.

Example for 5kW Committed Capacity Incentives:

1. A one-time cash incentive of $4,250 ($850 * 5 kW)
2. A monthly capacity credit of $25 ($5 * 5 kW)
3. If the customer is not participating in the Net Energy Metering Program and are in Customer Grid Supply Plus (CGS+) program the average rate would be $63 for the monthly export bill credit. The credit is calculated as ($0.40 - $0.10)/kWh * 5 kW * 70% * 2 hours * 30 days. Please note that this is an approximate calculation as the credit fluctuates to the retail rate.

Incentives are added to any credits you already receive from being on your respective Distributed Energy Resources (DER) program.

The one-time check and monthly capacity bill credits are considered as income and are taxable. Hawaiian Electric will provide participants with tax forms and customer must report this information to the IRS and the Hawaii Department of Taxation. Hawaiian Electric cannot offer tax advice. Consult a tax preparer with concerns about individual circumstances. In some cases, federal tax credits may be available.

The recipient of the upfront incentive check will be the owner of the storage system. The monthly capacity credit and monthly export credit will be tied to the bill account holder on the CIT application, as the credits are applied on the bill. To receive the incentives faster, the bill account holder should be the owner of the storage system.

To receive the incentive, you need to meet the following criteria:

1. Be enrolled in an approved Hawaiian Electric renewable energy rate program on Oahu and Maui (NEM/+, CGS/+, SE, CSS, SIA). (Note: Feed-in Tariff does not qualify).
2. Install a new battery for your solar system.
3. Use the battery two consecutive hours each day between 6-8:30 p.m. Hawaiian Electric will provide the exact start time.
4. Provide proof of permit application from the county permitting office.
   • On Maui, submit a completed Hawaiian Electric Grant of Authority form to the county permitting office to obtain a building permit number.
5. Submit a Battery Bonus amendment in the Customer Interconnection Tool.
6. Provide seven days of operational data, as required to show how much the battery is discharging during the two-hour peak period, verifying the incentive amount.
   • See Schedule Dispatch Handbook (PDF) for instructions on delivery of verification data, and use the 7 day SDP Verification Log (Excel) to submit data.
   • If a start time is not provided within an email sent by Company with subject “Project ID P-AMD-22-xxxxxx: Your application has passed completeness review" or "Your AMEND system has been conditionally approved", please use start time = 6:07pm for Oahu and 6:06pm for Maui.
7. Signed W9 Form (the name on the form must belong to an individual and it must be the same individual as the Customer Battery Storage-Operator, see agreement page 1.) Electronic signatures encouraged using DocuSign. To receive a W9 DocuSign form, please reach out to your contractor. W9 forms can also be printed out, signed and mailed to: Hawaiian Electric, P. O. Box 2750, Honolulu, HI 96840, Attn: AL18-SG

When filling out the amendment form, you need to specify the "committed capacity." This means you must consistently deliver that specified amount every day for a duration of 10 years within the assigned two-hour block. You will receive an incentive payment based on the committed capacity you have specified. For example, if you have a 13.5 kWh battery and commit to delivering 5 kW for two hours (equivalent to 10 kWh), you will only receive an incentive payment for the 5 kW you have committed.

You can work with your contractor to determine the capacity level (measured in kW) that you want to commit to maintaining the discharge level from your battery storage system. This commitment ensures that you can use the battery system for two consecutive hours every day. The specific dispatch period will be provided by Hawaiian Electric when you enroll in the program, and they may inform you in advance if there are any changes to the dispatch period.

To sign up, collaborate with your contractor and submit a Battery Bonus application. The application should include evidence of a submitted building permit, which is necessary to determine and secure your incentive payment. After your system is installed, operational, and contracts are signed, the upfront check will be issued. You can submit your applications through the Customer Interconnection Tool. If you are an existing or new Standard Interconnection Agreement customer who wants to apply for the Battery Bonus program, please email the required forms to siainfo@hawaiianelectric.com.

Yes, you can.

No, to participate, you must include a new eligible battery system.