In short: Maui homes buy power from Hawaiian Electric (Maui Electric) at about 45¢ to 48¢ per kWh, yet daytime solar exports earn just 6.6¢, the lowest rate on Hawaiian Electric’s islands. Maui customers lost about 6.5 hours of power in 2024, and planned wildfire shutoffs hit West Maui in February 2026 and Pukalani that September.
Below: what that means for backup power, solar, batteries and EV charging in Kahului, Kīhei and the rest of the island, and how Maui County handles permits. For statewide rules (the state tax credit, contractor licensing, the end of net metering), see our Hawaii energy guide.
Maui at a glance
- Utility: Maui Electric, part of Hawaiian Electric, serves Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi. Its homes paid 43.96¢ per kWh on average in 2024, all charges included (EIA-861). From October 1, 2026, Maui’s standard residential rate is 44.59¢ for the first 350 kWh a month, 47.25¢ for the next 850 and 48.01¢ above 1,200, plus a $13.54 customer charge.
- Outages (2024): 387 minutes per customer including major events, about 6.5 hours, and 287 minutes without them. Customers averaged 2.6 interruptions. Both figures are well above Oʻahu’s.
- Sun: 5.81 kWh per square meter per day around Kahului and Kīhei (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Our rough estimate: about 1,700 kWh a year per kW of panels.
- Top hazards: FEMA’s National Risk Index (December 2025) rates Maui County’s overall risk “relatively moderate.” Lightning, inland flooding, tsunami and volcanic activity rate “relatively high”; earthquake and wildfire “relatively moderate.”
- Public charging: 66 ports at 27 locations in Kahului and 37 at 15 locations in Kīhei (AFDC, October 2026).
Your utility and what it means
Maui Electric runs the same customer programs as Hawaiian Electric on Oʻahu, but the export rates are Maui’s own, and they are low in the daytime:
- Smart Renewable Energy Export: for 2024–2026, Maui exports earn 6.6¢ per kWh from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 18.2¢ in the 5 to 9 p.m. peak and 13.1¢ overnight. Credits left at the yearly true-up expire; new customers keep their rates for seven years. See the export program page.
- Smart Renewable Energy Non-Export: any size, nothing sent to the grid. With daytime exports worth so little on Maui, it’s worth pricing out.
- BYOD Plus: open in Maui County. You get $400 per kW of battery power you commit, paid upfront, plus another $400 per kW for qualifying low- and moderate-income homes. The battery then exports in a two-hour window you choose each day for five years. Read the BYOD Plus terms.
- Power Partnership: monthly bill credits on Maui for letting an approved partner manage a water heater or battery.
Backup power on Maui
Maui is one of the places where Hawaiian Electric’s Public Safety Power Shutoff program applies most. When it started in July 2024, its Maui County zones were West Maui, Upcountry, and parts of Central and South Maui and central Molokaʻi, about 26,100 customers. Power may be cut when there’s persistent drought, gusts of 45 mph or more and humidity below 45%. Hawaiian Electric aims to warn 24 to 48 hours ahead, but sudden conditions can mean little or no notice. Recent events:
- July 2025: a PSPS was used on Maui.
- February 10, 2026: a PSPS cut power in West Maui. Maui County opened the Lahaina Civic Center that evening so residents could charge devices.
- August 15 to 20, 2026, Hurricane Lala: gusts topping 80 mph knocked out all of West Maui and parts of Upcountry, South Maui and Haʻikū. On August 16 about 28,700 Maui County customers were out, and nine transmission and subtransmission lines on Maui were affected. Nearly all were restored by August 20.
- September 27 to 28, 2026: storm damage from Hurricane Nolo left about 10,000 West Maui customers out overnight (not a shutoff). The same day, a PSPS turned off power to 485 customers in Pukalani for a few hours.
Hawaiian Electric is replacing 19 wooden poles along Honoapiʻilani Highway in Lahaina with composite poles. Under its Rule 16, it isn’t liable for storm or shutoff losses such as spoiled food or refrigerated medicine. Sign up for alerts and check your area on its PSPS page or at 1-844-483-8666.
- Battery or power station: silent and spark-free, which matters on red-flag days. A portable power station covers medical devices, phones and the fridge; a home battery with solar can recharge during a shutoff that runs into the next day.
- Generator: covers long outages, but keep it on bare ground away from dry grass, outdoors at least 20 feet from the house, exhaust away from windows, and CO alarms inside (CPSC). See generator installation.
Size a system with the battery backup calculator or the generator sizing tool, and compare options in our backup power guide.
Solar on Maui
Maui County had 19,068 solar systems on Hawaiian Electric’s grid at the start of 2026, and owners added 434 more by June. Sun in the central valley and South Maui is strong: about 1,700 kWh a year per kW of panels by our estimate.
What that power is worth depends almost entirely on when you use it. Used at home, a kW of panels saves about $800 a year at the 47.25¢ middle tier. Exported in the daytime at 6.6¢, the same output earns about $110 (estimates, not quotes). On Maui, a system sized to your daytime use, with a battery to carry the rest into the evening, usually beats a big export-heavy array. Check your roof with the solar potential tool and solar savings calculator, and read how solar installation works, what it costs and how export credits compare with net metering.
Home batteries on Maui
In EIA’s 2024 count, 2,060 of Maui Electric’s 13,774 home solar systems had a battery, about 15%, lower than on Oʻahu or Kauaʻi. With 6.6¢ daytime exports and frequent shutoff risk in West Maui and Upcountry, a battery does more here than almost anywhere: it saves the evening kWh you’d buy at 47¢ and keeps the lights on in a PSPS. If you join BYOD Plus, ask how much capacity stays reserved for backup. See battery costs and battery installation.
EV charging on Maui
At about 30 kWh per 100 miles and the 47.25¢ tier, charging at home costs roughly $14 per 100 miles (an estimate). Charging at midday from solar you’d otherwise export for 6.6¢ is the cheapest fuel on the island. Hawaiian Electric says EV owners may qualify for a time-of-use rate; see its EV rates page. A Level 2 charger needs a 240-volt circuit and an electrical permit, installed by a licensed electrician. See EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Kahului: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Permits and inspections
- County of Maui, Department of Public Works: its Development Services Administration issues building and electrical permits through the MAPPS online system. Solar is filed as an “Electrical Permit – Renewable Energy System.” The county says it issues electrical permits within 30 days of a complete application, and inspections are requested in MAPPS. See the Electrical Permit and Inspection Section.
- Fire permit: the county notes that photovoltaic systems and fuel tanks may also need a separate permit from the Fire Prevention Bureau, so ask about it for batteries and generator fuel tanks too.
- Hawaiian Electric: solar and batteries need an approved interconnection application before they switch on.
Use a licensed electrician for transfer switches, battery panels and chargers; the state page shows how to check a license. In a condo or a planned community in Kīhei or Kahului, get written association approval first.
Cities we cover
- Kahului
- Kīhei
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Maui energy questions
Why are Maui’s solar export credits lower than Oʻahu’s?
Hawaiian Electric sets export rates by island. For 2024–2026, Maui’s daytime rate is 6.6¢ per kWh against 13.5¢ on Oʻahu, and its evening peak rate is 18.2¢ against 32.9¢. The practical answer on Maui is to use more of your own solar, directly or from a battery.
Which parts of Maui can have a Public Safety Power Shutoff?
Hawaiian Electric’s starting zones were West Maui, Upcountry, and parts of Central and South Maui, about 26,100 customers across Maui County. Shutoffs reached West Maui in February 2026 and Pukalani in September 2026. Call 1-844-483-8666 or check the PSPS maps for your address.
How long do Maui electrical permits take?
Maui County says it issues an electrical permit within 30 days after the application is complete. Solar goes in as a Renewable Energy System permit in MAPPS, and a separate fire permit may be needed. Hawaiian Electric’s interconnection approval runs alongside.
Is a generator or a battery better for Maui shutoffs?
For a shutoff like Pukalani’s in September 2026, which lasted a few hours, a battery or power station is simpler: silent, no fuel, no spark. A generator suits longer storm outages but needs fuel and safe placement away from dry brush. Many homes pair a battery for daily use with a small generator as a backstop.
Sources
EIA-861, 2024 (price = residential revenue ÷ sales; reliability; net metering); Hawaiian Electric effective rate summary for October 1, 2026, export, BYOD Plus, Power Partnership and PSPS pages, and 2024–2026 news releases (PSPS launch, rooftop solar, pole hardening, Hurricanes Lala and Nolo, Pukalani PSPS); County of Maui Electrical Permit and Inspection Section and February 10, 2026 news release; NASA POWER, 2001–2020; FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025; AFDC; CPSC. Read October 2026. Estimates are ours and labelled.