Hawaiian Electric wants the ability to send more power generated by its customers into the grid in return for financial benefits paid for by ratepayers.

The utility company announced Wednesday that it has reached a customer participation limit for one such program on Oahu, and is starting a new one for customers on Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii island.

Both programs received approval by the state Public Utilities Commission.

The just-closed Oahu program, called Battery Bonus, was started in July 2021 and paid customers a one-time fee between $500 and $850 per kilowatt of battery storage they added to new or existing rooftop solar systems.

Battery Bonus recently reached its maximum participation at 40 megawatts instead of an original 50-megawatt limit, and was intended to lower the chances of a power shortage due to delayed utility-scale renewable energy projects and the September 2022 retirement of a 180-megawatt coal-fired power plant owned by AES Corp.

The program also is intended to add stability to the grid as more intermittent renewable energy sources are developed, and also contributes to reaching a state goal of having 100% clean energy by 2045.

“Thanks to solid customer response Battery Bonus was able to meet its goal of adding critical energy storage to Oahu’s grid,“ Lani Shinsato, Hawaiian Electric customer energy resources co-director, said in a statement.

Through Battery Bonus, electricity from customer battery systems can be used by the customer or fed to the grid for two hours between the peak use period of 6 to 8:30 p.m.

If energy from a battery goes to the grid, Hawaiian Electric pays or issues a credit for that power under one of the various rooftop solar program arrangements it has with a customer.

Total incentive payments for being part of Battery Bonus in 2021 were estimated to be as much as $34 million, which ultimately gets paid for by utility ratepayers.

Hawaiian Electric estimated in 2021 that a residential customer using 500 kilowatts of energy a month would pay an additional $1.37 a month to fund the program on Oahu.

A Battery Bonus program also was started on Maui in July 2021 with a cap of 15 megawatts. This program remains open for participants until the cap is reached or June 30, 2024.

The new program starting March 1 is called Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, and is similar to Battery Bonus but with three participation options.

One option is to send a set amount of power to the grid for two consecutive hours each day.

A second option is to send a set amount of power to the grid for a one-hour period in response to a special need.

The third option is to send, or receive, a set amount of power to or from the grid for up to two hours in response to a special need.

“As we move forward with BYOD customers can continue to receive incentives for providing grid services while playing a key role in Hawaii’s clean energy transition,” Shinsato said.

Up to three incentives are available to BYOD participants — a one-time upfront payment, a monthly fee, and credits for controlled energy exports during a defined period.

The upfront payment is $100 for each kilowatt of capacity a customer commits to having available, capped at $1,000 for low- or moderate-­income customers and $500 for other customers.

The monthly incentive is $5 per kilowatt of commitment capacity for the two participation options involving sending power to the grid, and $10 per kilowatt of commitment capacity for the third participation option for sending or receiving power.

Participants in all three versions of BYOD may earn credits for energy exports based on an evening peak export rate regardless of the time of export, according to Hawaiian Electric.

BYOD, as the name suggests, is not intended to be limited to battery storage linked with rooftop solar. It’s possible that customers with other renewable energy production systems, such as wind turbines, hydroelectric facilities or other things with storage, can participate.

Capacity limits for BYOD are 70 megawatts on Oahu, 17 megawatts on Hawaii Island and Maui, and 1.45 megawatts on Lanai and Molokai.

The PUC approved the BYOD plan Dec. 4.

As part of the case, the state Consumer Advocate worked to ensure that BYOD balances a successful structure for the program and bill impacts on non-­participating customers.