Three “virtual power plants” in Hawaii are out of commission due to the recent demise of an energy management company, but the losses are small, according to Hawaiian Electric.
Los Angeles-based Swell Energy Inc. recently ceased operations that included operating what it called virtual power plants on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island.
The company helped homeowners add or expand rooftop solar systems with battery storage that could be accessed by Hawaiian Electric if needed to provide more electricity to the grid or mitigate potential grid imbalances.
Homeowners were offered financial incentives to participate in Swell’s Home Rewards Battery Program, which was approved by the state Public Utilities Commission and began in 2021.
Swell recently shut down, leaving Hawaiian Electric without access to the program participant batteries. The shutdown also left some customers with unfulfilled upfront incentive payments, while all customers will no longer receive future monthly bill credits.
Hawaiian Electric said it will pay any upfront incentives owed by Swell. The regulated utility also said the amount of energy and battery storage that it could potentially use from the system previously operated by Swell was relatively little.
“The closure of Swell Energy will have minimal impact on the grid in terms of capacity,” Alan Yonan, a Hawaiian Electric spokesperson, said in a statement.
Swell aimed to enroll 6,000 customers to create an 80-megawatt “virtual power plant” with 4,000 systems on Oahu, 500 on Maui and 1,500 on Hawaii island.
“Swell’s Home Battery Rewards program with Hawaiian Electric unlocks the potential for home batteries to bolster the local grid in Hawaii and bring even more renewable energy onto the islands,” Suleman Khan, CEO of Swell, said in a 2021 news release announcing its program.
But the company, after three years of operating in Hawaii, had only 1,242 customers, representing 23 megawatts of capacity, according to Hawaiian Electric.
Of the 1,242 customers, 987 are on Oahu, 150 are on Maui and 105 are on Hawaii island.
Hawaiian Electric has about 310,000 customers on Oahu, about 72,000 in Maui County and about 89,000 on Hawaii island.
Hawaiian Electric said it has sent letters to Swell program participants, informing them it would pay any upfront incentives owed by Swell, but only to eligible Home Rewards Battery Program customers who qualify under the terms of their contract.
Hawaiian Electric did not say what the sum is of these incentives owed to customers.
Starting in October, Hawaiian Electric said it would pause monthly credits and work with customers to unenroll their systems from the program.
Hawaiian Electric also said that although the utility is no longer receiving grid services from program participants, those customers can continue to use their systems to manage their own energy costs.
“This situation is unprecedented and we appreciate customers’ patience and understanding as we work toward a positive resolution,” said Yoh Kawanami, Hawaiian Electric customer energy resources co-director, in a news release.
