Hawai‘i Energy program secures 3-year, $127M contract to continue conservation work

Leidos, the state’s Hawai‘i Energy program administrator, has been awarded a new three-year contract by the Public Utilities Commission to continue managing Hawai‘i’s energy conservation efforts, according to an announcement on Thursday.

Program leaders say Hawai‘i Energy remains an essential resource for reducing electricity costs, lowering carbon emissions and strengthen energy resilience as the state transitions to 100 percent renewable energy sources by 2045.

“We are proud to continue empowering Hawai‘i’s families and businesses to make smarter energy choices and we are grateful to the PUC for its continued confidence in our team,” said Caroline Carl, executive director of Hawai‘i Energy. “This new contract gives us the opportunity to build on 15 years of progress and scale our efforts to help even more residents and businesses reduce their energy use, lower their bills and contribute to a more sustainable future for our state.”

Under the new three-year, $127 million contract, Leidos will continue to administer the Hawai‘i Energy program and the state’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station Rebate initiative. The contract also includes oversight of market transformation offerings, as well as education and training programs.

Priorities for program years 2025-2027 will include the expansion of affordability efforts for income-constrained households and small businesses, enhanced support for commercial customers and the introduction of new rebate categories.

“Energy efficiency is an essential component in our state’s achievement of 100% clean energy by 2045,” said Ashley Norman, Public Benefits Fund contracts liaison at the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission. “The Commission urges customers to take control of their energy use with Hawai‘i Energy’s rebates and resources, which help lower electricity bills and support Hawai‘i’s clean energy future.”

Since launching in 2009, Hawai‘i Energy has helped residents and businesses save an estimated $7 billion in lifetime energy savings. In the most recent program year, it distributed more than 18,000 rebates totaling approximately $20 million.

According to Hawai‘i Energy, additional achievements over the past 15 years include:

• Distributing more than 250,000 rebates to support energy efficient product adoption for tens of thousands of Hawai‘i homes.
• Launching the Energy Smart 4 Homes program, retrofitting more than 26,000 homes with energy-efficient products and reducing electricity costs by more than $175,000 annually.
• Investing more than $49 million to support residents and small businesses with affordability and accessibility challenges through initiates such as:
  • Delivering more than 2,800 refrigerators, freezers, washers and air conditioners to Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) households through the Hui Up! appliance trade-in program, including hundreds of homes on Moloka‘i where there is no appliance retailer.
  • Awarding more than $6 million to 550 small businesses, restaurants and nonprofits through the EmPOWER Grant Program, which launched in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Launching the Power Move incentive program in 2021 to help O‘ahu businesses reduce electricity use during peak hours following the retirement of the state’s last coal plant. The program provided more than $4.4 million in financial assistance.
• Partnering with the City and County of Honolulu to replace more than 53,000 streetlights with LED fixtures, saving approximately $1.9 million in energy costs.
• Providing more than 21,500 hours of professional development and technical training to Hawai‘i’s clean energy industry workforce.

“This work would not be possible without the dedication of our team,” Carl said. “Their commitment to serving Hawai‘i’s communities and to building a more equitable, resilient energy future is what makes the Hawai‘i Energy program successful.”

The Hawai‘i Energy program is funded through contributions to the Public Benefits Fund, which is collected as a fee on electric bills from Hawaiian Electric Company customers and managed by the PUC.

More information is available at hawaiienergy.com.