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Solar Owner Help In Hawaii

Hawaii licenses contractors through its Contractors License Board, investigates complaints through the Regulated Industries Complaints Office (RICO), and closed net metering to new Hawaiian Electric customers in 2015. Here is where to turn.

How To Check A License

The Contractors License Board consumer sheet on the Contractors Recovery Fund (revision 260123) says RICO can tell you a contractor's license status, license classifications, and proof of insurance, through the Consumer Resource Center at 1-844-808-3222. You can also use the public license search, and the RICO hiring tips page has more on verifying a license before you sign.

Where To File A Complaint

The same sheet says unlicensed contracting and violations of the state's licensing laws are investigated by RICO. Start at the DCCA complaint page.

The Contractors Recovery Fund

The sheet says the fund is paid for by licensed contractors and is limited to owners or lessees of private residences, condominiums, and cooperative units. Its main points:

• The contractor must have been actively licensed when you signed the contract.
• The maximum claim per contract is $12,500, and the most the fund pays for one contractor is $25,000, prorated if there are several claims.
• You give written notice to the board when you file a lawsuit, get a Hawaii court judgment, and first try to collect from the contractor's assets, bond, or insurance.
• State law may require you to give a licensed contractor a chance to repair before you sue, under the Contractor Repair Act (Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 672E).

It says neither the board nor its staff can give legal advice, and that lawsuits have time limits, so talk to an attorney early.

Net Metering Status

The Public Utilities Commission summary of its October 12, 2015 decision says it capped the net energy metering program at existing levels for the Hawaiian Electric companies. Current customers were grandfathered, and applications submitted by October 12, 2015 were not affected. The Public Utilities Commission DER Programs page says the Smart DER Tariff launched on April 1, 2024, with a Non-Export Rider and an Export Rider that pays time varying rates, and that initial export rates and incentives shall be updated every three years.

If you are on a grandfathered agreement, ask Hawaiian Electric in writing whether a repair, inverter replacement, or added panels would change it. The 2015 summary also mentions KIUC, the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, alongside the Hawaiian Electric companies, so Kauai owners should ask the cooperative directly which program applies.

Steps For Any Orphaned System

1. Gather your contract, permit, equipment list, warranty papers, and any loan or lease documents.
2. Call each equipment maker with your serial numbers. EnergySage guide to installer bankruptcy (updated January 7, 2026) says manufacturer warranties remain valid regardless of installer status, and that the manufacturer can often point you to installers certified on its equipment. It also quotes a service coordinator warning that if an installer is not certified on your equipment, those warranties could be determined to be void, so ask the manufacturer before you hire.
3. If you lease or have a power purchase agreement, contact the company that owns the system before hiring anyone. See Solar Lease Or PPA When The Company Is Gone.
4. Check any new company's license with the agency above before you sign, and get the scope and price in writing.

Agency rules, rates, and contact details change. Treat the dates on the sources here as a snapshot and confirm on the agency's own site.

If you want a local service company to look at your system, describe it in the system check form. We name the one company before anyone contacts you.

Related: Installer Went Out Of Business, Solar Warranty Help, Solar System Not Producing.