Hawaiian Electric launches interactive web tool to survey customers on EV charging stations

With the launch of the online Charge Up Hawaii tool, Hawaiian Electric hopes to gain insight to customers’ desires for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to better suit their upcoming mobility needs.

The tool is a story map platform that uses a mix of surveys and an interactive map for pinning suggestions as a means of picking customers’ brains about where they would like to see future EV charging stations deployed. It also provides a side of education, using videos, articles and website links to inform customers about transportation electrification efforts in Hawaii.

“This webtool is a great opportunity for us to hear from our customers as we work to strategically locate EV chargers to maximize their benefit,” Aki Marceau, director of electrification of transportation at Hawaiian Electric, said. “As more and more drivers make the switch to electric vehicles, we need to ensure there are sufficient EV charging solutions to support that growth.”

Hawaiian Electric intends to expand its public charging network over the coming years, building out from the 25 fast chargers it currently owns and operates on five islands as part of a public charging infrastructure pilot. Beyond that pilot, though, the company intends to make chargers a permanent fixture of life in Hawaii, and to grow their presence accordingly. This will be especially necessary over the next decade, given that Hawaiian Electric estimates more than 3,600 public charging stations will be needed by 2030.

Currently, Hawaii hosts more than 15,000 registered electric passenger vehicles. The island state’s Public Utilities Commission also approved a Hawaiian Electric Charge Up eBus Pilot in May to encourage the growth of electric bus fleets through upfront cost reduction in the installation of charging infrastructure and is currently reviewing a commercial make-ready pilot that would lend charging infrastructure support to light-duty vehicles at commercial properties.