by HEC Team | Mar 30, 2015 | 2015, News
Another successful Maui Energy Conference wrapped up on Friday, with a 15% increase in attendance over last year’s conference. The event, held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, featured more than 50 speakers and 325 participants. In addition to increased attendance, press coverage of the event also increased this year. Below is a list of articles published by the press.
Battery touted as aid for electricity generation – Star Advertiser
HEI CEO touts NextEra’s goals – Star Advertiser
‘There needs to be transparency’ – Maui News
The Most Unexpected Energy Conversation – Ililani Media
Energy Discussion Maui Style – Ililani Media
Maui Energy Conference attendance spikes 15% with merger talk front and center – Pacific Business News
Hawaii Gas reviewing proposals for $300M LNG project – Pacific Business News
Undersea cable project sparked NextEra Energy’s interest in buying Hawaiian Electric Co. – Pacific Business News
Maui plans to replace streetlights with LED lighting – Pacific Business News
Hawaiian Electric CEO: We Will Continue to Pursue LNG – Honolulu Civil Beat
NextEra President: We Don’t Have All the Answers – Honolulu Civil Beat
Mayor calls for 100 percent renewable energy for county – Maui News
Dip in oil prices slows Hawaiian Electric’s LNG project – Pacific Business News
Maui County islands can attain 100% renewable energy, mayor says – Pacific Business News
Few opt out of Hawaiian Electric smart meter pilot on Oahu – Pacific Business News
Hawaiian Electric must be out front in technology, Oshima tells Maui Energy Conference – Pacific Business News
Exploring energy through customers’ eyes – Pacific Business News
Hawaiian Electric, NextEra Energy execs to keynote Maui Energy Conference in March – Pacific Business News
Hawaiian Electric Cos. signs on as title sponsor for Maui energy conference – Pacific Business News
NEWS: Hawaii’s Advanced Energy “Postcard From the Future” – Advanced Energy Perspectives
by HEC Team | Mar 28, 2015 | 2015, Past Conferences
A Focus on the Customer
Press Coverage of the 2015 Maui Energy Conference
PROGRAM
Download the Program Booklet
PROCEEDINGS
Download the Proceedings
PRESENTATIONS
Day 1 | Wednesday, March 25, 2015
NEXTERA AND HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC: TOGETHER, FOCUSED ON THE CUSTOMER
Introduction by Doug McLeod, Chair, Conference Program Committee
Alan Oshima, President & CEO, Hawaiian Electric Company
Eric Gleason, President, NextEra Energy Hawaii
SESSION 1: UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLVING ROLE OF THE CUSTOMER IN A BROADER CONTEXT
Jonathan Koehn, Regional Sustainability Coordinator, City of Boulder, Moderator
Henry Curtis, Executive Director, Life of the Land
John Farrell, Director, Democratic Energy, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
S. David Freeman, American Engineer, Attorney, and Author
SESSION 2: THE CUSTOMER OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Jay Griffin, Chief of Policy and Research, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Moderator
Neil “Dutch” Kuyper, Chief Executive Officer, Parker Ranch, Inc.
Hunter Lovins, President, Natural Capitalism Solutions
Justin McCurnin, Vice President & General Manager, Smart Grid Solutions, Honeywell
Jon Yoshimura, Director of Policy and Electricity Markets, SolarCity
SESSION 3: ARE WE SEEING WHAT THEY’RE SEEING: CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS ON ENERGY
MPowerMaui: An Energy Conversation A Presentation of Results
Jeanne Unemori Skog, President & CEO, Maui Economic Development Board, Inc.
Fern Tiger, Principal and Creative Director, Fern Tiger Associates, Moderator
David Bissell, President & CEO, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative
Jeff Mikulina, Executive Director, Blue Planet Foundation
Will Rolston, Energy Coordinator, County of Hawaii
Jeanne Unemori Skog, President & CEO, Maui Economic Development Board, Inc.
SESSION 4: ADVANCING TOWARD GRID MODERNIZATION MEETING CUSTOMER NEEDS
Maurice Kaya, Program Director, Energy Excelerator, Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, Moderator
Jim Alberts, Senior Vice President, Customer Service, Hawaiian Electric Company
John Cooper, U.S. Business Development Manager, Business Transformation & Engineering Solutions, Siemens Industry, Inc.
Tad Glauthier, Vice President, Hawaii Operations, STEM Inc.
Joseph Boivin, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Corporate Affairs, Hawaii Gas
SESSION 5: THE GROWTH OF DISTRIBUTION GENERATION – GOOD OR BAD FOR THE CUSTOMER?
Sebastian “Bash” Nola, Utility Consultant, Moderator
Mark Duda, President, Hawaii PV Coalition, and Founder, RevoluSun LLC
Dan Girard, Director, Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Business Development, S&C Electric Company
Mathew McNeff, Manager, Engineering, Maui Electric Company
Richard Rocheleau, Director, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawaii
Day 2 | Thursday, March 26, 2015
FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER – MAUI STYLE
Frank De Rego Jr., Business Development Projects Director, Maui Economic Development Board, Inc., Moderator
Irene Bowie, Director, Maui Tomorrow
Carl Freedman, Owner and Principal, Haiku Design and Analysis
Kelly King, Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, Pacific Biodiesel, Inc.
Cathy Nobriga Kim, Vice President, Maui Soda and Ice Works
CLIMATE AFFORDABILITY: GETTING TO GREEN AND KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON
Mark Toney, Executive Director, The Utility Reform Network Slapping
HOW STATE ENERGY POLICY WILL HELP THE CUSTOMER
Luis Salaveria, Director, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, State of Hawaii
SESSION 6: HOW CAN THE CUSTOMER BECOME AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THE ENERGY LANDSCAPE
Holly Benz, Vice President, Consulting, Schneider Electric, Moderator
Deborah Kimberly, Vice President, Customer Energy Solutions, Austin Energy
Matt O’Keefe, Director, Market Development and Regulatory Affairs, Opower
Ray Starling, Program Director, Hawaii Energy Conservation and Efficiency Program
Kimberly Williams, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Solar Fuels Institute
SESSION 7: THE CHANGING REGULATORY COMPACT – THE CUSTOMER, THE UTILITY, THE REGULATOR
Joe Viola, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Hawaiian Electric Company, Moderator
Lorraine Akiba, Commissioner, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission
Jim Alberts, Senior VP Customer Service, Hawaiian Electric Company
Kyle Datta, General Partner, Ulupono Initiative
Raya Salter, Senior Utility Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council
SOCIAL INNOVATION: OUR VISION FOR THE CUSTOMER
Yasuo Tanabe, Vice President & Executive Officer, Government and External Relations, Hitachi, Ltd.
SESSION 8: CONSUMER PROTECTION: WHO’S LOOKING OUT FOR THE CUSTOMER?
Thomas Gorak, Chief Counsel, Public Utilities Commission, State of Hawaii, Moderator
John Howat, Senior Policy Analyst, National Consumer Law Center
Michael Jung, Policy Director, Silver Spring Network
Jeffrey Ono, Executive Director, Division of Consumer Advocacy, Department of Commerce and Consumers Affairs, State of Hawaii
Mark Toney, Executive Director, The Utility Reform Network
ENGAGING CUSTOMERS IN A FRESH, NEW WAY
Deborah Kimberly, Vice President, Customer Energy Solutions, Austin Energy
KEY TAKEAWAYS: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Constance Lau, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.
REDEFINING THE CUSTOMER’S ROLE IN THE UTILITY OF THE FUTURE
Lorraine Akiba, Commissioner, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Moderator
Neil “Dutch” Kuyper, Chief Executive Officer, Parker Ranch
H. Ray Starling, Program Director, Hawaii Energy
Bob Lachenmayer, Smart Cities Manager, Schneider Electric
Ben Springer, Senior Associate, Energy Futures Coalition
HOW WILL THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM CHANGE IN THE FUTURE?
Bob Lachenmayer, Smart Cities Manager, Schneider Electric, Moderator
Ron Binz, Former Chair, Colorado Public Utilities Commission
L. Hunter Lovins, President, Natural Capitalism Solutions
Richard Rosenblum, Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Electric
Ben York, Sr. Project Engineer, Electric Power Research Institute
Kyle Datta, General Partner, Ulupono Initiative
HAWAII’S UNIQUE PLACE IN THE EMERGING ENERGY TRANSFORMATION
Constance Lau, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.
CLOSING REMARKS
Hermina Morita, Chair, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission
VIDEOS
View the conference videos on the Maui Energy Conference YouTube channel, or click on the thumbnails below.
Wednesday, March 25
Thursday, March 26
by HEC Team | Mar 13, 2015 | 2015, News
A glimpse into Hawaii’s historic, proposed energy merger will be available at the upcoming Maui Energy Conference and Exhibition.
Two of the major players in the proposed merger of Hawaiian Electric Co. and NextEra Energy are delivering keynote addresses on the conference’s opening day on March 25, at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
Eric Gleason, president of NextEra Energy Transmission LLC, and Alan Oshima, president and CEO of HECO, will help launch the three-day conference set for March 25-27.
In December, the companies announced that NextEra would buy HEI in a 4.3 billion dollar acquisition deal. The proposed absorption of HEI into NextEra still needs approval of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.
Connie Lau, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Electric Industries, has described the merger as a “transformational opportunity” for Hawaii’s electric utilities to accelerate the shift away from traditional diesel-powered turbines to clean energy. Lau is also speaking at the conference on its second day.
NextEra is North America’s largest generator of wind and solar power. Wind and solar energy are both abundant but to a great extent not yet harnessed in Hawaii.
Gleason has said that NextEra has invested billions in clean energy development and has the expertise to bring that transformation to Hawaii. The company is roughly 14 times larger than Hawaiian Electric in terms of its earnings and total assets. This gives NextEra the capability to bring currently less-expensive liquefied natural gas to Hawaii—as an alternative to diesel fuel—while incorporating distributed solar and wind power alternatives.
The energy merger players and attendees at the conference will explore the evolving role of the electric utility through the lens of the customer. In a variety of sessions, national experts will discuss emerging trends in the electric utility industry and public policy that will shape customer choices including customer protection and engagement, renewable energy integration, microgrids, and demand response programs.
In its debut last year, the Maui Energy Conference drew industry, government and private leaders not just from Hawaii, but also places such as Colorado, California and even Japan. “Interests in the energy field goes beyond our shores,” said Jeanne Skog, President & CEO from Maui Economic Development Board. “This event features a variety of speakers actively engaged in electric utilities, renewable energy initiatives and business development.” With the support of a host of corporate partners, MEDB and the County of Maui are presenting the event.
The exhibition piece of the conference gives networking opportunities to participants who want to generate business, or connect and collaborate to address common issues and concerns.
Individuals with questions or interests in energy could also find the three-day professional conference compelling. Day two of the conference, for example, offers sessions with panelists speaking about “Consumer Protection: Who’s Looking Out for the Customer?” and “How can the Customer Become an Active Participant in the Energy Landscape?”
All together, the conference program highlights include eight breakout sessions with topics including: “The Customer of the 21st Century”; “Are We Seeing What They’re Seeing: Customer Perceptions on Energy”; “Advancing Toward Grid Modernization: Meeting Customer Needs”; “The Growth of Distribution Generation – Good or Bad for the Customer?”
The conference’s third day will move outdoors with two optional Maui Sustainability Mobile Workshops—a tour of Kaheawa Wind Farm and a tour of the Smart Grid Demonstration Project, JumpSMARTMaui, hosted by Hitachi Ltd.
by HEC Team | Jan 29, 2015 | MPowerMaui, News
Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) is currently seeking volunteers from the community to share their priorities and values about energy on Maui – today and in the future – as part of a project called “MPowerMaui: An Energy Conversation”.
The public is encouraged to sign up and participate in small group sessions which will be held in the entire month of February. These 90-minute sessions are designed to be engaging, interesting, and informative. “MPowerMaui features the interactive kind of format used in the Focus Maui Nui visioning process that produced lively discussions and thoughtful responses from our community,” said Jeanne Skog, MEDB President & CEO. Activities will enable participants to learn more about energy, to think about their own actions related to energy, to prioritize issues, to consider what actions they would or would not support, and to develop messages for decision makers.
Interested participants may either host a session at their company or organization by bringing together 12-15 individuals and a MEDB representative will run the session, or individuals can sign up for a session that MEDB organizes.
The results of these MPowerMaui conversations will be presented at the “Maui Energy Conference” in to be held on March 25 and 26, 2015.
“This opportunity for public conversation is critical as it can have an impact on the future of our island,” said Skog. “By joining in this conversation, participants will be helping to bring the public’s voice to the table in front of decision makers and community stakeholders as actions are determined to create a ‘green’ energy future for Maui.”
The MPowerMaui project is presented by the Maui Economic Development Board with sponsorship from the County of Maui Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) Energy Office; and the UH Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI).
To sign up to participate, please call 875-2336.
by HEC Team | Jan 29, 2015 | 2015, News
With island consumers paying more than double the national average per kilowatt hour for electricity, the second Maui Energy Conference + Exhibition comes at a time when Hawaii is seeing a revolutionary shift to renewable energy resources. The conference, presented by the County of Maui in partnership with Maui Economic Development Board, will be held March 25-27 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The event is expected to draw individuals and businesses from across the state and the country.
At the inaugural 2014 conference, more than 200 recognized policy makers from state and federal government and the private sector gathered to talk candidly about the country’s changing energy landscape and its implications for power utilities and consumers. This time around, the 2015 event promises to explore the evolving role of the electric utility through the lens of the customer. Nationally recognized experts have been invited to speak about emerging trends in the electric utility industry and public policy shaping customer choices including customer engagement programs, distributed generation, microgrids, demand-response programs and renewables integration.
NextEra Energy Transmission President Eric Gleason and HECO President and CEO Alan Oshima have been tapped to give keynote remarks on the opening day of the conference. Hawaiian Electric and the Florida-based NextEra Energy announced a $4.3 billion merger late last year. The conference will also feature multiple sessions with a variety of panelists talking about a range of subjects from meeting the customer’s needs to both self-generate and manage electricity usage to protecting consumers in the new energy/customer choice paradigm. The conference is also offering sponsorship opportunities for companies and exhibit spaces for public and private groups to display products and services. An optional Maui Sustainability Mobile Workshop featuring the Smart Grid Demonstration Project, JumpSmartMaui, will be held on the final day of the conference. Conference fee is $395 prior to Feb. 15; $495 after Feb. 15; and $525 on site. The fee covers admittance to general sessions, exhibit venue, networking exhibit reception, continental breakfast and lunch for two days, and conference materials.
by HEC Team | Jan 29, 2015 | 2015, News
Plans are well underway for the 2015 Maui Energy Conference and the program committee is shaping a very compelling program! Stay tuned for further program announcements in the next few days. Our planning team has also been working with our corporate partners to confirm sponsorship and exhibit plans for the Conference. Exhibit space is filling quickly, too, so we’d love to hear from your organization soon!
Why Attend the Maui Energy Conference?
- Gain a competitive advantage—learn from thought leaders about key issues in the industry
- Connect and collaborate—forge partnerships to address common issues and concerns
- Showcase your organization—generate new business through Sponsorship and Exhibiting
Register Today!
We’ve assembled an impressive program, noted speakers, and plenty of networking opportunities, don’t wait, Register Now!
Contact Us
Visit us online or contact Sandy Ryan, Conference Director, at 808-875-2318 or by email.
by HEC Team | Dec 29, 2014 | 2015, News
Aloha and Season’s Greetings,
We are pleased to announce the MAUI ENERGY CONFERENCE, March 25-27, 2015 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center!
You’re invited to join us as we explore the evolving role of the electric utility through the lens of the customer. The relationship between customers and electric utilities is changing with the growing array of options and services available to meet customer energy needs. Nationally recognized experts will discuss emerging trends in the electric utility industry and public policy shaping customer choices including customer engagement programs, distributed generation, microgrids, demand response programs, and renewables integration.
Details on this year’s program are available at our new Conference website, www.mauienergyconference.com.
And don’t miss the opportunity to boost your company’s presence at the conference with an early sponsor and exhibit commitment. The Sponsor & Exhibit Kit is available for download now!
Our Conference Program Committee and Team look forward to welcoming you in March and to answering any questions you may have in the meantime.
See you in the New Year,
The Maui Energy Conference Team
by HEC Team | Oct 31, 2014 | News
The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at University of Hawai‘i at Manoa recently published a report. A representative survey of 1,214 Hawai‘i residents was conducted for the purpose of assessing public attitudes about different technologies for generating electricity. Renewable energy (RE) technologies were very highly favored: 97% of the public supported increased development of at least some forms of RE in our state.
The full report can be found and downloaded here.
by HEC Team | Apr 29, 2014 | News
Originally published on Utility Drive
Hawaii is as beautiful as ever, with our palm trees, ocean breezes and plenty of sunshine. But it is no longer just our tourists on the beaches who are soaking up the rays. There are photovoltaic systems everywhere and at least one concentrating solar power system—more solar power than hula skirts and surfboards!
Hawaiian utilities have installed more than 42,000 PV systems through the end of 2013: 9% of the nation’s total, despite having less than 1% of the country’s utility customers. Similarly, almost 9% of utility customers now have solar, versus 0.5% nationwide. No other state in the country has experienced anything close to our level of solar penetration.
Read the full article on Utility Drive
by HEC Team | Apr 11, 2014 | 2014, News
The eyes of the nation are on Hawai‘i as a living laboratory.
At the end of March, Maui hosted a conference–“Electric Utilities: The Future Is Not What It Used To Be.”
As Mayor Alan Arakawa said in his welcome address, electricity has become an important issue for Maui, as utility bills average $250, even though the island has an abundance of natural resources.
Together with the wind farms, solar has replaced a quarter of diesel-generated electricity, placing Maui Electric Company (MECO) at the forefront of an epochal, nationwide change.
The two-day conference at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center was the brainchild of Kihei’s Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) and the Mayor’s Office.
Published in Maui Weekly (no longer available online)
