$HE Falls 2.9% After New Hawaii Grid RFP Plan
Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE) fell 2.9% on Jul 17, 2026 after its utility unit submitted a major grid-planning request for proposals aimed at adding renewables, storage, and always-available generation.
What Hawaiian Electric announced
Hawaiian Electric Company, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries, submitted its Integrated Grid Planning Request for Proposals (IGP RFP) to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. The company said the goal is to retire aging power plants sooner by accelerating the addition of modern “firm” generation that can produce electricity 24/7 when variable resources like wind and solar aren’t available.
In what it described as one of the largest generation resource procurements in state history, the competitive bidding process seeks nearly 1,650 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of variable renewable energy such as solar and wind. It also seeks 465 megawatts (MW) of grid-forming resources (for example, solar paired with battery storage) and 111 MW of firm generating capacity that can be available around the clock. The company said projects would be in service between 2031 and 2034.
Separately, Hawaiian Electric said it is seeking expedited regulatory approval to expand procurement for fuel-flexible firm generation resources on O‘ahu by up to an additional 500 MW. In a letter to the commission, the company said it wants a “transparent, Commission-supervised forum” to evaluate the firm generation component without pre-determining its size or fuel requirement, and it plans to launch a request for proposals for all fuels by the end of 2026.
What it means for Hawaiian Electric
The filing lays out a roadmap for how the utility wants to source the next wave of generation—balancing more renewables with resources designed to keep the lights on when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. The mix of variable renewables, grid-forming resources, and firm capacity suggests the company is trying to pair clean generation with reliability-focused infrastructure.
The emphasis on competitive bidding and commission oversight could shape what ultimately gets built, when it comes online, and what technologies win. The request to expand fuel-flexible firm generation on O‘ahu by up to an additional 500 MW also signals the company is keeping multiple options on the table as it evaluates cost, sourcing, and environmental impact.
How the stock reacted
HE traded lower overall on Jul 17, 2026, ending the session down 2.9% from a $13.85 baseline.
| Window | Move |
|---|---|
| 5 min | -0.2% |
| 10 min | +0.5% |
| 30 min | +0.2% |
| 1 hour | -0.8% |
| end of day | -2.9% |
On a market-adjusted basis, the stock underperformed the S&P 500 by 3.1% the same day.