Report Could Edge Hawaii Closer to On-Bill Financing for Solar
Hawaii could be closer to implementing a new program that makes things a lot easier for Hawaii residents — even renters — who want to switch to solar or energy efficiency appliances.
A newly released report says that on-bill financing, which allows residents to pay for systems through their electricity bills over a period of years could work well in Hawaii.
The report, conducted by Harcourt, Brown & Carey, was commissioned by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.
Blue Planet Foundation, a renewable energy advocacy group that has lobbied hard for the program, has an overview of how the program works on its website:
This solution removes two major hurdles to participation: cost and complexity. Many folks who want to adopt clean energy don’t have an extra few thousand extra dollars to purchase a solar water heater or upgrade their old appliances. The existing sea of financing options, cluttered with differing terms and interest rates requires credit checks and considerable effort to navigate. On-bill streamlines this process, removing the guesswork and applying the payment directly to the reduced electric bill. The financing is worked out between the program administrator and a local bank, removing the customer’s burden of negotiating the transaction.
Think about it this way. How many people would pay $2,400 for an iPhone? Probably not many. Mobile service providers realize this. They provide a discounted phone and require customers to sign a multi-year contract—spreading out usage payments instead of requiring it all upfront. Similarly, if the electric company required payment for 10 years of power upfront ($22,000 for most families), who would be able to afford electricity? Yet that’s what the current system requires of residents who want to purchase clean energy. If we want to achieve energy self-sufficiency, we need to stop getting in our own way and make it easy to do the right thing.
