HECO, NextEra file merger application, launch distributed energy tracking program

Dive Brief:

Hawaiian Electric (HECO) has launched Integrated Interconnection Queues (IIQ) for each of its utilities, allowing customers to see the status and progress of planned renewable generation projects, including customer-sited rooftop solar.
Each utility's IIQ will show an application’s status relative to other projects proposed on the neighborhood circuit and on the island-wide electrical system. Previously, applicants had no way of knowing where their project stood in the interconnection queue.
HECO and its would-be parent company NextEra Energy also filed their formal application to merge last week with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. Among other benefits, the companies said they would agree to a four-year rate freeze if the merger is approved by regulators.

Dive Insight:

Hawaiian Electric continues to make progress on connecting more rooftop solar, with a long-term goal of increasing renewable energy on the system to more than 65% by 2030. Earlier this month, HECO proposed to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission a plan to triple distributed generation, primarily residential rooftop solar, and in October announced a plan to clear the backlog of residential rooftop solar projects awaiting approval.

The plan is to process 90% of those projects by April 2015 and the remainder, which may require additional circuit upgrades, by December 2015.

Now, Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light Co. have launched IIQs giving customers and developers an online portal to track renewable projects. The list, which will be updated monthly, includes projects at every stage of the interconnection process, including applications approved for interconnection but not yet installed by the customer.

“Hawaii is experiencing unprecedented growth in rooftop solar and utility-scale solar, wind and other renewable generation,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president of customer service. “We know we need an improved interconnection process – we owe it to our customers. The goal for this Integrated Interconnection Queues is to provide fair and equitable treatment for all non-utility energy providers, including homeowners and developers.”

The IIQ includes Net Energy Metering, Feed-in Tariff, Standard Interconnection Agreement, Schedule Q and Purchase Power Agreements that seek to interconnect on the distribution level. Because the IIQ listing is public, names and addresses of applicants and developers are not visible to protect privacy.