Energy dashboard

The Big Island’s power, by the numbers

Where our electricity comes from, how fast we are going renewable, and what oil prices are doing to household bills. Every figure links to its source.

Renewable share incl. rooftop solar, Q4 2026 est.
67.5%
Source: Think B.I.G. ESR Framework
Official RPS, 2024 (share of generation)
58.7%
Source: HECO 2024 RPS Status Report
Oil-based fuel charge, Nov. 2026
24.51¢
per kWh, up 27% since Jan. · Source: HELCO fuel-charge filings
Average residential rate, Nov. 2026
48.6¢
per kWh, all charges at 500 kWh, up 3.9¢ since Jan. · Source: HELCO fuel-charge filings
Residential bill at 500 kWh, Nov. 2026
$243.16
up $19.54 since January · Source: HELCO fuel-charge filings

Three ways to count, one grid. Hawaiian Electric’s official RPS divides renewable energy by total net generation (58.7% in 2024). The older share-of-sales figure divides it by retail sales (75.8% in 2024). The chart below and our 2026 estimate divide it by retail sales plus the rooftop solar that customers use themselves, the Act 240 formula as the Think B.I.G. model applies it (61.5% in 2024). All three count rooftop solar.

Where our renewable power comes from

Renewable share of Big Island electricity by source, 2005–2026 (2026 modeled)
The 2018–2020 dip is Puna Geothermal Venture offline after the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. 2005–2024 are restated from Hawaiian Electric’s share-of-sales data on the formula above: each year’s share divided by one plus that year’s rooftop share. 2025 averages January to September; 2026 is the Think B.I.G. Energy Self-Reliance Framework estimate. Sources: Hawaiian Electric historical RPS data by island; Think B.I.G. ESR Framework.

The oil-linked fuel charge, 2016–2026

Fuel charge, ¢ per kWh, Hawaiʻi Island, monthly
The fuel charge passes the utility’s oil costs straight through to your bill every month, with no rate case and no hearing. It is one line on the bill and does not include the base rate, taxes or other charges. It bottomed near 11¢ when oil crashed in 2020, peaked at 31¢ in June 2022 and has climbed again since the Iran war began in 2026. Before February 2019, part of the fuel cost sat in base rates and the rest in a monthly adjustment; those months show the two added together. Source: Hawaiʻi Electric Light monthly ECAC and ECRC filings with the PUC, Jan. 2016–Nov. 2026.

What it costs you

Slide to your monthly use
Fuel charge alone, Nov. 2026
$122.56
Change since January
+$25.76

Monthly fuel charge = your kWh × the month’s factor. The rest of the bill is unaffected. Cut use or shift it to local solar and storage and this line shrinks; see Lower your bill and Understanding your power bill.

Where we could be by 2045

Renewable generation vs. electricity demand, GWh per year
Projection from the Think B.I.G. Hawaiʻi County RPS Model (v5, March 2026), which counts utility-scale renewables, rooftop solar and carport solar against total demand including EV charging and electrification. The moderate path assumes today’s pipeline (PGV repower, Keʻāmuku Solar and others); the robust path assumes faster build-out. Projections are planning estimates, not forecasts.

Sources

Updated November 2026. Hawaiian Electric posts RPS data quarterly and fuel-charge filings monthly.