Privacy

Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains what information is collected from visitors to the Hawaii’s Energy Future Web site located at http://www.hawaiisenergyfuture.com, why the information is collected, and how it is used. It also explains user options for accessing and managing information, our data security practices and other matters. This Web site is operated by Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO). This Policy is subject to our Legal Notice and Terms of Use located on the footer of each page.

Special Note About Children

This site is not intended for unsupervised use by children.

What Information Do We Collect? Why?

HECO is sensitive to your confidentiality and privacy concerns regarding information that you may provide to us over the Internet to our Web site. Generally, you can browse the Web site without registering, logging in, or revealing personal information about yourself.

Also, in the future, to permit a customized experience on our Web site, you may be asked to choose content or interest options. Information that you submit may be used to improve the content of our Web site, to answer questions, to notify you about updates to our Web site, and for other purposes.

We may automatically collect information about your computer configuration. This may include your browser type, operating system, IP address or ISP domain name. Technically, your IP address could reveal or be associated with your personal identity. In most cases, because your Internet Service Provider generally assigns these dynamically, the IP address alone does not divulge your identity. We may review this information in the aggregate to improve Web site performance.

With Whom Do We Share Information?

We do not share your email address with third-party marketers.

A Note About "cookies"

A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a web site's computers and stored on your computer's hard drive.

Each web site can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

We do use cookies in an effort to recognize you as a return visitor to our site. We may also use cookies to keep track of user preferences. For example, we may use a cookie to display the appropriate company logo for a visitor depending on whether they are a customer of HELCO, MECO, or HECO.

Certain Legal Disclosures

We may need to disclose user information in certain exceptional circumstances. This may be needed to protect against illegal hackers, to protect our legal rights or to address actual or threatened illegal or harmful conduct. Disclosure may also be required by legal process, such as a search warrant, subpoena or court order.

What Data Security is Used?

We may offer secure pages to collect certain information on any future processing forms. We also use administrative, physical, and technical precautions to help protect the confidentiality, security and integrity of personal information stored on our system. We host the Web site at a commercial-grade data center that employs extensive security practices. While no computer system is completely secure, we believe the measures implemented by our Web site reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved.

How Long Do We Retain User Data?

Currently, we plan to retain user data for at least three years afterward. We may alter this practice according to legal and business requirements. For example, we may lengthen the retention period for some data if needed to comply with law or voluntary codes of conduct. Unless otherwise prohibited, we may shorten the retention period for some types of data if needed to free up storage space.

Management of User Information:

We will make a good faith effort to implement your data according to our rules. Note: We have greater control over data currently stored on the system than for archived data. Once data is archived and removed from the system, it may not be feasible to modify or remove data for specific individuals. In those cases, our general data retention policy applies.

Your Consent to This Policy

By using this Web site, you agree to this Policy. This document supersedes any prior communication on this topic and reflects the entire and exclusive Policy for this Web site. This Policy is subject to our Legal Notice and Terms of Use located on the footer of every page, which take precedence over any conflicting Policy provision. We may change our Policy by posting a new version of it on our Web site.

If You Have a Question:

We are posting this Policy in an effort to be a good Web citizen. We want to assure you that HECO is committed to protecting your privacy. If you have any questions or comments about this Policy, please email us at comments@hawaiisenergyfuture.com.