Hawaiian Electric announced Tuesday it has postponed the start of its new “Shift and Save” pilot program for about 17,000 residential and business customers.

The company has also temporarily suspended the start of the program on Maui at the request of Mayor Richard Bissen.

Originally, customers with advanced smart meters were selected at random to test time-of-use rates on Oahu, Hawaii island and Maui under an order by the state Public Utilities Commission, which regulates public utility companies.

The study will now include Oahu and Hawaii island customers only, with time-of-use rates to begin on Feb. 1 instead of Oct. 1.

However, eligible Maui customers may still voluntarily enroll in time-of-use rates at their own discretion.

Customers will be notified about the postponement by email or postal mail.

The purpose of “Shift and Save” is to encourage customers to shift their use of electricity from evening and overnight hours, when energy is generated by expensive fossil fuels, to the daytime, when solar energy is abundant and less expensive.

For customers in the program, rates would be lowest during the daytime, and highest during evenings.

The one-year pilot program, developed collaboratively by Hawaiian Electric, the state Consumer Advocate and solar industry representatives, was authorized for implementation by the PUC in June.

The PUC will use data and feedback collected from the pilot program to determine how and whether this program will ultimately apply to all customers in the future.

Customers selected for the pilot can decline to participate. Rates for all other customers remain unchanged.