Hawaiian Electric Industries history

Pro-annexation forces deposed the queen and formed a provisional government in 1893.

Before the advent of the electric refrigerator, the company used its excess capacity to manufacture ice, beginning in 1894.

HECO extended light and power service to Waikiki in 1897 and used the proceeds from additional stock offers to buy a 2,000-volt generator.

When HECO's franchise from the provisional government ran out in 1904, the company requested a new contract from the United States government.

By 1906, HECO had registered over 2,500 customers, who used 500,000 kilowatts of electricity annually.

The company increased its capacity with the installation of Hawaii's first steam-driven turbine, a 750-kilowatt steam turbo-generator, in 1908.

The legislature passed the bill, but when Hawaii's governor vetoed it, the bill was returned to the legislature, where anti-HECO representatives won out in 1913.

By 1914 HECO had started rural service to the windward side of the island and was marketing electric products like refrigerators and flat irons.

In 1915, the company also opened a merchandising department that sold electric appliances, like the newly introduced refrigerator.

In 1922 HECO added a 10,000-kilowatt generating unit, continuing the expansion of electrification to more isolated regions in the mountains of Oahu.

Hawaiian Electric's King Street building opened for business on July 25, 1927.

By 1931, the company claimed 40,650 residential customers and profits nearing $100,000.

Groundbreaking at Waiau Power Plant in 1937.

The first unit at the Waiau Generating Station goes online in 1938.

A second unit with 15,000 kilowatts of capacity was built in 1940.

Workers safely shut down the Waiau Power Plant while under fire from Japanese war planes on December 7, 1941.

Talks grew so rancorous that union leaders petitioned for municipal ownership of the utility in 1943.

The Pali tunnels and a new highway open Windward Oahu to development in 1958.

Hawaii became a state in 1959, and by then Oahu was entirely electrified.

The first unit at Kahe Power Plant goes online in 1963.

The plant was brought on line with a generating capacity of 86,000 kilowatts, and a second unit with the same capacity was started up in 1964.

With plans for more expansion underway, HECO made its first public stock offering of $90 million in 1965, then invested the proceeds in its physical plant.

In 1966 Russell Hassler succeeded Ralph Johnson as president when Johnson died unexpectedly.

The first stage of HECO's 138-kilovolt Halawa Valley station, which would become the utility's largest transmission station, was in operation by 1967.

HECO purchased Maui Electric Company (abbreviated MECO and pronounced MEE-coh) in 1968.

HECO filed for its first rate increase in 17 years in 1971, and despite widespread public opposition, the PUC permitted a 5.9 percent increase the following year.

HECO's only labor strike occurred in 1973 and lasted two weeks.

The first, triggered by a fire, occurred in 1983, and another resulted from a transformer explosion the following year.

Hawaiian Electric contracts for the first time with three independent power producers in 1989: The Honolulu Program of Waste Energy Recovery (H-Power), Kalaeloa Partners L.P., and Applied Energy Services, Barbers Point, Inc. (AES).

Dudley Pratt was replaced by Harwood D. Williamson as president and CEO of HECO in 1990, and Robert F. Clarke was appointed president of Hawaiian Electric Industries.

In 1991, for example, the entire island of Oahu was totally blacked out during routine maintenance.

Then, on September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki's 160-mile-per-hour winds devastated the island of Kauai.

Puna Geothermal Venture begins providing power to Hawaii Electric Light in 1993.

1995: Changing to Meet Customers' Needs through Energy Solutions

Hawaiian Electric begins offering energy efficiency "Energy$olutions" rebate programs, including the nation's largest residential solar water heating program in 1996.

Hawaiian Electric unveils its new e-bill service allowing customers to view and pay their electric bills via the internet in 1999.

American Lung Association awards Hawaiian Electric with the Mauli Ola (Breath of Life) award for environmentally responsible operation of our power plants in 2003.

2006: Building Energy through Partnerships

Eighty two of Hawaii Electric Light's diesel fleet vehicles complete the switch from straight diesel to a more environmentally-friendly biodiesel mix in 2008.

Hawaiian Electric's 110-MW Campbell Industrial Park Generating Station, fueled by renewable biodiesel, goes online in 2009.

Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric Company are honored for Solar Energy Adoption by the Solar Electric Power Association in 2012.

In 2013, HECO began working with Siemens to develop a self-healing grid in eastern Oahu and Waikiki to ensure a reliable electrical supply.

Hawaiian Electric opens the first utility-owned and operated DC Fast Charger for electric vehicles on Oahu at Dole Plantation in 2015.

On July 18, 2016, it was announced that the merger was cancelled after the Public Utilities Commission disapproved the deal.

In 2018, the 50-MW Schofield Generating Station – a collaboration between the United States Army and Hawaiian Electric – begins operations as a fuel-flexible, highly efficient plant that can keep critical infrastructure running during a major outage affecting the Oahu grid.

On December 24, 2019, HECO announced that it would begin operating under a single name with its subsidiaries MECO and HELCO—Hawaiian Electric.