KAANAPALI – The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa has become the first commercial business partner in the state to begin testing for Maui Electric Company’s semi-automated Fast DR (Demand Response) Pilot Program.

In partnership with Hawaiian Electric, MECO launched Fast DR last year to help business customers control the cost of their electric bills while helping the utility maintain reliability and add more renewable energy to the grid.

Fast DR rewards commercial and industrial customers for designating parts of their electricity use that can be turned off during critical energy situations with ten minutes’ notice or less.

“We are proud to be the first commercial business in the state to begin testing this important clean energy program,” said Michael Jokovich, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Maui.

“Hyatt Regency Maui is thrilled to partner with Maui Electric and to remain on the cutting edge of renewable energy with the Fast DR Pilot Program.”

“The Fast DR program is yet another example of the importance of collaboration on all levels and across all sectors when it comes to reaching our clean energy goals,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric Company.

“Working in partnership with the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, we are able to integrate higher levels of clean renewable energy to our system while ensuring service that is reliable and dependable for our customers.”

Using a state-of-the-art energy management system (EMS), the resort will allow part of its power consumption to be temporarily reduced following an Internet notification from MECO’s operations system.

For example, the EMS will be set to increase temperatures slightly for short periods during a Fast DR event.

For more information on Maui Electric’s Demand Response programs, visit www.dr.heco.com.