18 December 2024 | Hawaii Solar

Hawaii Solar Export Rates vs Retail Electricity Rates: What Oʻahu Homeowners Should Know

If you have solar on your roof, or are thinking about it, two numbers shape almost everything about how your system shows up on your bill. One is what Hawaiian Electric charges you for the power you buy. The other is what it credits you for the solar power you send back. On Oʻahu today, those two numbers are far apart for most of the day. Understanding Hawaii solar export rates vs retail electricity rates is the first step toward sizing a system, deciding on a battery and picking the right program for your home.

Our team at Alternate Energy Hawaii has been designing and installing solar in the islands since 1993. We've installed 59 MW of Mitsubishi Electric solar panels since 2011, and we are a Tesla Premier Installer. This guide explains the rates in plain language so you can weigh the trade-offs against your own roof, usage and utility account.

The Electricity Cost in Hawaii: What You Pay for Grid Power

Hawaiʻi has long had some of the highest residential electricity prices in the country. Much of the islands' grid power still comes from petroleum-fired generation, which is expensive compared with other sources. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that Hawaiʻi households had the highest average monthly electric bills in the nation in 2024, even though on average they used the least electricity from the grid.

Hawaiian Electric publishes the average residential price for each island. For 2025, those averages were:

Island	2025 average residential price
Oʻahu	40.54 cents per kWh
Maui	41.58 cents per kWh
Hawaiʻi Island	45.81 cents per kWh
Molokaʻi	48.48 cents per kWh
Lānaʻi	50.02 cents per kWh

Keep in mind that the electricity cost Hawaii homeowners actually see changes from month to month. Part of every bill is an energy cost adjustment tied to fuel prices, so your own rate will move up and down over the year. The most reliable number to plan around is the one on your own recent bills.

How Hawaiian Electric Credits Solar Exports Today

Net energy metering, the original program that credited exports one-for-one, has been closed to new customers for years. New solar customers on Oʻahu now generally connect under Hawaiian Electric's Smart Renewable Energy (SRE) programs. Under the SRE Export option, the credit you earn for power sent to the grid depends on the time of day it goes out.

Here are the export credit rates Hawaiian Electric lists for 2024–2026:

Island	Overnight (9 p.m.–9 a.m.)	Daytime (9 a.m.–5 p.m.)	Evening peak (5 p.m.–9 p.m.)
Oʻahu	18.9¢/kWh	13.5¢/kWh	32.9¢/kWh
Maui	13.1¢/kWh	6.6¢/kWh	18.2¢/kWh
Hawaiʻi Island	14.8¢/kWh	10.6¢/kWh	23.1¢/kWh
Molokaʻi	17.4¢/kWh	17.9¢/kWh	27.2¢/kWh
Lānaʻi	25.9¢/kWh	26.7¢/kWh	40.8¢/kWh

A few program details matter as much as the rates themselves:

Rates are locked for seven years. Export rates stay fixed for the first seven years of a new interconnection agreement.
Credits expire at the annual true-up. Export credits are reconciled once a year, and any credits left over at the end of the year expire.
Older programs transition over time. Customers on Customer Grid-Supply, Customer Grid-Supply Plus and Smart Export move to the SRE Export program seven years after their original contract date.
Advanced meters are required. The time-of-day credits depend on a meter that records when power flows in each direction.

For a program-by-program walkthrough, see our guide to choosing among HECO's solar programs.

Hawaii Solar Export Rates vs Retail Electricity Rates, Side by Side

Put the two tables together and the picture for an Oʻahu home becomes clear.

On Oʻahu	Cents per kWh
2025 average residential price for grid power	40.54
Export credit, daytime (9 a.m.–5 p.m.)	13.5
Export credit, overnight (9 p.m.–9 a.m.)	18.9
Export credit, evening peak (5 p.m.–9 p.m.)	32.9

Most rooftop solar is produced between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, which is exactly when the export credit is lowest. In practical terms, a kilowatt-hour of solar you use in your own home during the day replaces power you would otherwise buy at the full retail price. The same kilowatt-hour sent to the grid at midday earns only a fraction of that price. Then, after sunset, you buy power back at the retail rate.

That gap is why the question has shifted. It used to be "how much solar can I fit on my roof?" Now it is "how much of my solar can I use myself, and when?"

What the Rate Gap Means for Your Solar Design

There is no single right answer. The best design depends on your roof, your household's routine and how long you plan to stay in your home. These are the main choices our team works through with homeowners.

Size the system to your usage, not your roof

When daytime exports earn a low credit, a system much larger than your household can use may add less value than you expect. We start with your last 12 months of bills and look at when your household uses power, not just how much it uses.

Shift daytime loads into solar hours

Running the dishwasher, laundry, pool pump or water heater during the day lets you use your own solar instead of exporting it. Pre-cooling your home in the afternoon with efficient Mitsubishi ductless AC moves some cooling out of the evening hours, when your solar has stopped producing and you are buying power at the full retail price. Our article on maximizing solar during Hawaiʻi's hottest months goes deeper on timing summer loads.

Store midday solar for the evening

A battery lets you store daytime solar instead of exporting it at a low credit. You then use that stored power in the evening instead of buying it at the retail rate. Solar paired with battery storage can also keep selected circuits running during an outage, which matters to many Oʻahu families.

Look at the programs built around batteries

Hawaiian Electric's Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Plus program offers incentives to battery owners who agree to send stored power to the grid during set evening windows. Terms, eligibility and enrollment can change, so review the current rules before you design around the program. Our BYOD Plus battery program guide covers what to check.

Reduce the load you need to cover

Heating water is a large part of many household bills. Solar water heating takes that load off your electric meter entirely, which may mean a smaller PV system is enough for the rest of your home.

Why Does Electricity in Hawaii Cost So Much?

A few structural factors keep prices high across the islands:

Imported fuel. A large share of grid power is still generated from imported petroleum, so changes in fuel prices flow straight into bills.
Island grids. Each island runs its own separate grid, with no neighboring grid to share power with.
Smaller scale. Island grids serve fewer customers, so the fixed cost of generation and transmission is spread over a smaller base.

Solar doesn't change those factors. What it changes is how much of your household's Hawaii electricity cost depends on them.

Tax Credits and Incentives Are Changing

Solar incentives in Hawaiʻi are in flux, so check the latest rules before you plan around any credit.

Federal. Federal legislation passed in 2025 ended the residential clean energy credit for systems completed after December 31, 2025.
State of Hawaiʻi. In 2026 the legislature passed SB3125, which was signed as Act 24. It changes the state Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit for taxable years after December 31, 2026. Governor Green's Executive Order 26-02 keeps the prior credit terms for tax year 2026. The Hawaiʻi State Energy Office says implementation guidance is still being developed. Our overview of Act 24 and the Hawaii solar tax credit explains the changes in more detail.

We can't provide tax advice. Please review how these rules apply to your household with a qualified tax professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cost of electricity in Hawaii right now?

Hawaiian Electric's published 2025 average residential price was 40.54 cents per kWh on Oʻahu. It was higher on the neighbor islands, up to 50.02 cents per kWh on Lānaʻi. Your own rate moves month to month with fuel costs, so check your recent bills for the most accurate figure.

How much does Hawaiian Electric pay for exported solar on Oʻahu?

Under the Smart Renewable Energy Export program, the listed Oʻahu credits for 2024–2026 are:

13.5 cents per kWh in the daytime
18.9 cents per kWh overnight
32.9 cents per kWh during the 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. evening peak

Why is the export credit lower than the retail rate?

The retail price covers generation plus the cost of the grid itself: poles, wires, customer service and reliability. Export credits are set to reflect what the power is worth at the time it reaches the grid. Midday solar is plentiful on Oʻahu, so daytime credits are the lowest.

Is solar still worth it in Hawaiʻi if export credits are low?

It depends on your usage, roof, budget and goals. Because retail power costs well above the daytime export credit, most of solar's value in Hawaiʻi now comes from using your own production. You can use it directly during the day or store it in a battery for the evening. A proposal based on your own bills and site is the only reliable way to judge it for your home.

Do my export credits carry over from year to year?

No. Export credits are reconciled once a year, and any credits left at the end of the year expire. That is one more reason to size a system around what your household uses.

Can I still get net energy metering?

Net energy metering is closed to new customers. Existing NEM customers keep their arrangement under the program's rules. Adding panels can affect that arrangement, so talk with your installer before expanding an older system.

Talk With Our Team

If you're weighing solar, a battery or both, our team can review your Hawaiian Electric bills and look at your roof. We'll walk you through how the current export and retail rates apply to your home. Request a free solar estimate or call our main line at (808) 842-5853.