New portal provides users insightful energy data

Jan 30, 2023

The Hawaii State Energy Office (HSEO) recently launched a new, first-of-its-kind Energy Data Portal. The portal provides users with 35 standardized, live data sets including average household electricity bill cost and usage per month; crude oil, gas, and electricity prices in Hawaii and on the U.S. Mainland; and electricity expenditures by state agencies.

HSEO staff developed the portal with data science fellows from the University of Hawaii. According to HSEO, the data sets draw information from about 70 public and private sources and includes state facilities’ energy usage, fulfilling Act 239, which passed in 2022.

“Providing transparent Hawaii energy data is key to building that trust,” HSEO stated in its November 2022 news release announcing the portal. “For example, data visualizations that show how each island’s electricity prices change in concert with the price and amount of fossil fuel generation make it easy to understand how and why moving quickly to renewable energy helps make Hawaii more affordable for everyone.”

Users can view the current data sets on the portal and analyze the state’s progress in achieving its clean energy and climate goals. HSEO staff will continue to add data to the portal while also assuring that it is accessible and transparent to the public. A grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy funded the portal, which can be assessed at energy.hawaii.gov/energy-data.