HECO Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Station at Waianae Mall in Early 2017

HONOLULU, Aug. 29, 2016 – Hawaiian Electric Company will install and operate a new electric vehicle (EV) fast charger at Waianae Mall at 86-120 Farrington Highway, the sixth utility-owned public fast charging site on O‘ahu and ninth in its service territories.

Waianae Mall is a primary shopping destination and community center on the Leeward Coast. It is anchored by Longs/CVS drugstore and City Mill. Other tenants include Bank of Hawaii, Burger King, Goodyear Tire, Jamba Juice, American Savings Bank, Pizza Hut, Radio Shack and Starbucks.

“We are happy to bring this opportunity to residents and visitors to the Waianae community,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president for customer service. “Not only will this serve current electric vehicle drivers, but we hope it will encourage others to consider an EV as a way to save money while helping Hawai‘i to reach a clean energy future, reduce fossil fuel use and protect the environment.

“A fast charger can recharge a typical EV battery to 80 percent in less than half an hour, reducing ‘range anxiety’ and helping more people take advantage of the benefits of electric vehicles,” said Alberts. 

In addition to electric vehicles being less expensive overall to drive and needing less maintenance than gasoline vehicles, Oʻahu EV drivers get free parking at municipal lots and metered parking and may use high-occupancy vehicle lanes with only one person aboard.

The Waianae Mall fast charger is expected to be in operation by early 2017. It will join publicly accessible fast chargers at Dole Plantation in Wahiawa, Ko‘olau Center in Kaneohe, Kapolei Commons, 7-Eleven in Hawai‘i Kai and at Hawaiian Electric’s Ward Avenue customer parking lot, as well as two chargers on Hawai‘i Island and one on Maui. Additional sites on Oʻahu and neighbor islands are being sought. The Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission has authorized up to 25 utility-owned fast chargers across the Hawaiian Electric Companies’ service territories.

Hosting a fast charger helps with compliance of the Hawai‘i state law that requires public parking lots with at least 100 parking spaces to have at least one exclusive parking space equipped with a charging station for electric vehicles. Hawaiian Electric will operate the equipment at no cost to the host for installation, maintenance or electricity. Hosts must be willing to provide the requested space and minimal assistance for operation.

More information is available by contacting 808-543-GoEV (4638), GoEV@hawaiianelectric.com or Hawaiian Electric GoEV, CP10-SR, P.O. Box 2750, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, 96840-0001.