Hawaiian Electric Co. defends its new rooftop solar plan

The Hawaiian Electric Co. program that is responsible for record numbers of rooftop solar installations in Hawaii is being questioned by some in the industry.

Last month, the state’s largest utility said that the new “net energy metering” plan would credit customers at a rate that better reflects the cost of the electricity produced by its customers’ rooftop solar systems.

The NEM program allows customers to shift the burden of operating the grid to full-service customers, while still benefitting…