In short: Hawaii homes paid an average of 48.0¢ per kWh in July 2026, the highest residential rate in the country and about 2.6 times the U.S. average of 18.31¢ (EIA). Add strong sun and a grid that no longer pays retail for exported power, and the math in Hawaii favors using your own solar at home, usually with a battery.
Every kilowatt-hour you don’t buy is worth more in Hawaii than anywhere else, and that changes how solar, batteries and EV charging pencil out compared with the mainland.
Hawaii at a glance
- Home electricity price: 48.0¢/kWh in July 2026, up from 39.36¢ in July 2025; 46.28¢ average for January to July 2026. U.S. average: 18.31¢ (EIA, preliminary).
- Outages (2024): about 321 minutes without power per customer including major events, 226 minutes on normal days; customers saw about 2.6 interruptions in the year, 2.2 without major events (EIA-861).
- Sun: about 5.68 kWh/m² per day in Honolulu (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Our rough estimate: about 1,660 kWh per year for each kW of solar panels.
- Net metering: closed to new customers in 2015. Hawaiian Electric customers now use the Smart DER tariffs (since April 2024): Smart Export, with time-of-use export credits, or Non-Export. Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative has its own rules (Hawaii PUC).
- Plug-in (balcony) solar law: none found as of October 2, 2026; utility interconnection rules apply.
- EVs and charging: 35,100 battery-electric and 9,400 plug-in hybrid vehicles registered through 2025; 1,034 public charging ports at 399 locations, 183 of them DC fast (AFDC, October 2026).
- Main utilities: Hawaiian Electric on Oʻahu (about 310,000 customers), Hawaii Electric Light on Hawaiʻi Island (about 90,000), Maui Electric (about 72,000) and Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative (about 35,000) (EIA-861, 2024).
- Weather risk (FEMA National Risk Index, Dec 2025): wildfire rated relatively moderate; hurricane, winter weather, ice storm, tornado and strong wind all rated very low as expected annual losses. Overall: relatively low.
- Public Safety Power Shutoffs: yes. Hawaiian Electric has run a PSPS program since July 1, 2024 and has used it on Maui (July 2025, February 2026 in West Maui, and September 27, 2026 in Pukalani) and Hawaiʻi Island (November 2025).
Backup power in Hawaii
Hawaii’s outage numbers look different from the storm-battered mainland states. The gap between the two 2024 figures is small: 321 minutes with major events versus 226 without. In other words, most of the lost time came from ordinary days, not one giant storm. A typical customer was interrupted a little more than twice a year, for roughly one and a half to two hours each time.
FEMA rates hurricanes as a very low expected annual loss statewide, but that is a long-run average, not a promise for your island, and 2026 showed it. Hurricane Lala in August cut power to about 130,100 customers on Oʻahu, all of West Maui and more than 65,700 customers on Hawaiʻi Island. Hurricane Lowell in September knocked out 33,319 of KIUC’s 36,333 members on Kauaʻi (92%). See the Oʻahu, Maui, Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi guides for each island’s record. The other risk to plan around is wildfire, and with it planned shutoffs. A Public Safety Power Shutoff turns power off on purpose in high fire-danger weather, and it can last until crews inspect the lines. If you live in a wildfire-prone area of Maui or Hawaiʻi Island, plan for outages that may run longer than a day.
What that means for choosing backup power here:
- Short, frequent outages: a portable power station handles the fridge, lights, Wi-Fi and phones for a few hours with no fuel and no fumes. Size one with our battery backup calculator.
- Everyday savings plus backup: a home battery paired with solar does double duty in Hawaii, because the same battery that rides through an outage also stores midday sun for the evening, when buying power costs the most.
- Multi-day shutoffs: a generator is the cheapest way to cover several days, but fuel is costly to store on an island and the noise carries. If you use one, follow CPSC’s rules: outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, exhaust pointed away from windows and doors, never in a garage or carport, and battery-backed CO alarms inside. Size it with our generator sizing tool.
Any connection to your home’s wiring, whether a transfer switch for a generator or a battery’s backup panel, is work for a licensed electrician with a permit.
Solar in Hawaii
Hawaii already has a lot of rooftop solar: EIA counted 98,418 residential net-metered systems in 2024 (about 532 MW), not counting systems on the newer tariffs, against roughly 506,000 electric customers statewide.
Here is a rough way to think about value. Our estimate is about 1,660 kWh per year from each kW of panels in Honolulu-like sun. A kWh you use yourself saves you the retail price, about 48¢ in July 2026, so each kW of panels could offset on the order of $700 to $800 a year if you used all of its output at home. That “if” is the catch. Under Smart Export, power you send to the grid earns time-of-use export credits that are lower than what you pay, and under Non-Export you send nothing at all. The more of your solar you use yourself, as it’s produced or later from a battery, the closer you get to the top of that range. These are labelled estimates, not a quote: roof direction, shade, your island’s rates and the tariff you join all change the answer.
Hawaii’s main state incentive is the Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit (RETITC). For residential solar it has been 35% of the cost up to $5,000 per system. A 2026 law (Act 24) adds caps, certification and a sunset for tax years after 2026, and an executive order keeps the current terms for 2026. Check the Hawaii State Energy Office RETITC page and a tax professional before you count on it; amounts and rules change. There is no federal solar credit for systems finished after December 31, 2025.
Plug-in balcony solar: Hawaii has no plug-in solar law as of October 2026, so any device that feeds a wall outlet falls under your utility’s interconnection rules. Ask Hawaiian Electric or KIUC first. Learn more in our solar guide, what solar costs, net metering explained, and try the solar potential calculator.
Home batteries in Hawaii
Of those 98,418 net-metered systems in EIA’s 2024 count, 17,953 had a battery, nearly one in five. That makes sense when exports earn less than retail: a battery moves your midday surplus into the evening, when you’d otherwise buy power at full price.
Hawaiian Electric’s BYOD Plus program, approved by the PUC, pays an upfront incentive plus monthly credits for new home batteries enrolled to help the grid, and it reserves half of its capacity for lower-income households, which get higher incentives. Amounts and openings change, so read the current terms on Hawaiian Electric’s customer choice page before you size a system around it. Enrolled batteries share some capacity with the grid, so ask how much stays reserved for your own backup.
Compare systems and prices in our home battery guide and home battery cost guide.
EV charging in Hawaii
Hawaii had 35,100 battery-electric cars registered through 2025 and 1,034 public charging ports, about 34 EVs per public port, the most of any state in our data. Most owners rely on home charging.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Hawaii: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
At the July 2026 average rate, home charging is not cheap here. Using a typical figure of about 30 kWh per 100 miles (the kind of rating shown on fueleconomy.gov), 100 miles costs about $14.40 at 48¢/kWh, or around $144 for 1,000 miles a month. That’s an estimate. The real lever in Hawaii is charging from your own solar in the middle of the day. Work out your own number with the EV charging cost calculator and see charger options in EV charging at home. The federal home charger credit ended for chargers placed in service after June 30, 2026, and we didn’t confirm a state charger rebate.
Off-grid, small wind and micro-hydro
Hawaii is windy: NASA’s long-term average is about 7.1 m/s at 50 meters near Honolulu, well above the 4.5 m/s (about 10 mph) that the U.S. Department of Energy’s small wind guidebook suggests for a grid-tied turbine. That’s a coarse estimate: small turbines sit much lower, and trade winds vary by valley and ridge. RETITC has covered small wind too (20% up to $1,500). Off the grid, solar plus batteries with a generator backstop is the practical setup. We haven’t checked a state source on micro-hydro, so we don’t make claims about it here. Read more in off-grid power, wind energy and hydroelectric power.
Licensing and permits in Hawaii
Contractors are licensed by the Contractors License Board within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Professional and Vocational Licensing: C-13 is the electrical contractor class and C-60 covers solar power systems. Individual electricians are licensed by the Board of Electricians and Plumbers. The online lookup didn’t load for us, so search the DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing website for the company name and license number before you sign. Building and electrical permits come from your county (City and County of Honolulu, Maui, Hawaiʻi or Kauaʻi). Solar and batteries also need your utility’s interconnection approval before you switch them on.
Local guides in Hawaii
Utilities, rates, outage records, permit offices and local programs for each area:
Where we cover in Hawaii
- Oʻahu: Honolulu, Kapolei, Ewa Beach, Kailua, Kaneohe, Pearl City
- Maui: Kahului, Kihei
- Hawaiʻi Island: Hilo, Kailua-Kona
- Kauaʻi: Lihue
Local pages will follow as we verify local information and installers for each area.
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Hawaii energy FAQ
Does Hawaii still have net metering?
Not for new customers. Hawaii closed net energy metering in 2015. Hawaiian Electric customers now choose Smart DER tariffs: Smart Export, which pays time-of-use credits for exported power, or Non-Export, where the system doesn’t send power to the grid. Older systems may keep earlier terms. Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative sets its own rules, so check with KIUC if you live on Kauaʻi.
Why is electricity so expensive in Hawaii?
We report the price rather than guess at causes: EIA’s preliminary July 2026 figure is 48.0¢ per kWh for homes, up from 39.36¢ a year earlier and about 2.6 times the U.S. average. The practical upshot is that every kWh you avoid buying, through solar, a battery or efficiency, is worth more here than in any other state.
Is there a solar tax credit in Hawaii in 2026?
The state RETITC has offered 35% of a residential solar system’s cost, up to $5,000 per system, and an executive order keeps current terms for 2026 while Act 24 changes the rules for later years. The federal residential credit ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025. Confirm eligibility on the State Energy Office’s RETITC page and with a tax professional.
What is a Public Safety Power Shutoff in Hawaii?
It’s a planned outage Hawaiian Electric can use during dangerous fire weather to keep its lines from starting a wildfire. The program began July 1, 2024, and was used on Maui in July 2025 and on Hawaiʻi Island in November 2025. Power returns after crews check the lines, so homes in fire-risk areas should plan for longer outages.
Do I need a battery with solar in Hawaii?
Not by law, but it often makes sense. Because exports earn less than the retail price, storing midday solar for evening use raises the value of each kWh. Nearly one in five net-metered home systems in EIA’s 2024 count already had a battery. A battery also keeps essentials on in an outage or a shutoff, if part of it stays reserved for backup.
Sources
Electricity prices: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Electric Power Monthly Tables 5.6.A and 5.6.B, July 2026 (preliminary). Outages, utilities and solar counts: EIA-861, 2024. Sun and wind: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020. Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. EVs and charging: Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), registrations through 2025 and station counts read October 3, 2026. Tariffs: Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. Shutoffs and BYOD Plus: Hawaiian Electric. Tax credit: Hawaii State Energy Office. Licensing: DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing.