Hawaiian Electric releases updated Electrification of Transportation ‘Roadmap’ to support growing local EV market

Hawaiian Electric has released an updated version of its Electrification of Transportation (EoT) Strategic Roadmap that includes specific actions the company plans to undertake through 2030 to support the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market. 

More than 50 organizations provided input for EoT Strategic Roadmap 2.0, including advocacy groups, nonprofits, automakers and dealerships, fleet operators, labor unions, government agencies and academic institutions. The updated roadmap was filed recently with the Public Utilities Commission. 

The report acknowledges the extensive work Hawaiian Electric has done since producing one of the utility industry’s first EoT roadmap in 2018. Still, there is a long way to go to meet Hawai‘i’s critical climate goals and unlock the benefits of electric transportation for all Hawaiian Electric customers, the report notes. The updated roadmap will guide the company as it rises to meet these challenges.

The number of registered EVs on Hawai‘i’s roadways has quadrupled since 2018 to more than 32,000 today, and EVs now comprise 11% of new passenger vehicle sales statewide. A growing number of EV models are available for sale, including the first medium- and heavy-duty EV options, and the economics of EV ownership have improved.

“Much has changed since the original roadmap filing and the landscape will continue to evolve,” said Jamila Jarmon, Hawaiian Electric’s acting director of Electrification of Transportation. “As we work to implement our EoT actions in the coming years, new ideas and opportunities for further innovation will no doubt emerge. We are confident that this roadmap sets us on the right path and allows us to seize new opportunities to deliver value to our customers as they arise.”

Among the actions recommended in the report: 

• Enable charging for personal mobility by adding public chargers and improving their maintenance.
• Engage disadvantaged communities and rideshare and transit partners to inform public EV charger siting.
• Expand make-ready infrastructure programs to support additional fleet electrification.
• Pilot innovative charge management technologies to support off-peak charging for customers.
• Reinforce community resiliency efforts and pursue pilots that support the safe, cost effective and reliable integration of electric vehicles into the grid.
• Support workforce development through inclusive partnerships to develop charger and vehicle maintenance curriculum for training and certification programs.

EoT Strategic Roadmap 2.0 was developed through a rigorous process that started and ended with customers and communities in Hawai‘i. Hawaiian Electric was assisted by Atlas Public Policy, a research firm with extensive experience in the field of transportation electrification. 

The robust community engagement employed by Hawaiian Electric included a series of workshops on Oʻahu, Maui and Hawai‘i Island, meetings with industry stakeholders as well as meetings internally with Hawaiian Electric teams. Through the engagement process Hawaiian Electric gathered input on benefits and barriers to electric transportation, as well as opportunities and priorities for moving forward.

Using a set of “Guiding Principles on EoT” Hawaiian Electric came up with an initial list of potential actions most appropriate for the company. Hawaiian Electric then narrowed down the list to a set of draft actions that were shared with community stakeholder and incorporated with their feedback into the final document.

The roadmap is available here.