LIHUE (AP) — The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative will offer discounted electric rates to certain residential customers who shift energy consumption to daylight hours in order to use the utility’s solar resources.
LIHUE (AP) — The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative will offer discounted electric rates to certain residential customers who shift energy consumption to daylight hours in order to use the utility’s solar resources.
The one-year pilot program was approved Monday by the Public Utilities Commission and is designed to increase community participation in renewable energy programs and reduce the likelihood solar energy will be curtailed, according to the Garden Island (https://bit.ly/1NQtIAJ).
More than 50 megawatts of electricity are generated during the day by utility-scale and rooftop photovoltaic systems on Kauai. If program participants can shift enough of their energy use from the night to the day, KUIC could avoid having an oversupply of solar energy, a situation could lead to limiting the amount of solar allowed on the grid.
The program will offer a 25 percent discount on standard electric rates from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or 8 cents less than the 31 cents customers were charged per kilowatt hour in September.
Recruiting will start in October for a program start date in 2016. The utility provider will choose 300 residential customers based on several factors, including diversity of household size.
Participants will receive a digital display that monitors real-time usage and a $200 payment toward the installation of a water heater timer or other device that facilitates load shifting.