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THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION TO INITIATE A
    COLLABORATIVE PROCESS TO FACILITATE THE CREATION AND
    IMPLEMENTATION OF STANDARDIZED POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENTS.



 1        WHEREAS, the public utilities forecast that the energy
 2   needs of this State will increase over the next half-century;
 3   and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, at some point, the current power plants will need
 6   to be retired and new sources of generation will need to be
 7   constructed; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, independent power producers can serve this need;
10   and
11   
12        WHEREAS, negotiating a power purchase agreement can
13   currently take up to five years, discouraging many potential
14   generators from investing the time and money with no guarantee
15   of return; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, having a standardized power purchase agreement
18   that addresses important issues such as interconnection, price,
19   and supply will allow these potential generators to effectively
20   compete to service the Hawaii market; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, the community at large would benefit by lower
23   costs; and
24   
25        WHEREAS, it may be legally inappropriate for the Public
26   Utilities Commission (PUC) to create and implement contracts
27   between private parties, and more appropriate for the PUC to
28   direct the utilities to create standardized power purchase
29   agreements for various types of generation, and to allow
30   potential generators to comment on the agreements prior to
31   approval by the PUC; and
32   
33        WHEREAS, standard formats for power purchase agreements
34   currently exist, but different types of contracts are required
35   for different applications; now, therefore, 

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        


 1   
 2        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 3   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
 4   Representatives concurring, that the PUC is requested to
 5   initiate a collaborative process to facilitate the creation and
 6   implementation of a standardized power purchase agreement for
 7   each specific technology ; and
 8   
 9        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in initiating this process,
10   the PUC is requested to consult with the appropriate
11   authorities and experts; and
12   
13        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the PUC is requested to submit
14   a report concerning the status of this request and any findings
15   and recommendations to the Legislature not later than twenty
16   days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
17   
18        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
19   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
20   PUC, the Presidents of Hawaiian Electric Company, Citizens
21   Utilities Company doing business as "Kauai Electric", Life of
22   the Land, Sierra Club, AES Hawaii, Inc., Zond Pacific, Inc.,
23   Apollo Energy Corporation, and Kahua Ranch Ltd.; the General
24   Partners of Kawaihae Cogeneration Partners, Kalaeloa Partners
25   L.P., Encogen Hawaii L.P., and Honolulu Resource Recovery
26   Venture doing business as "HPower"; the Manager of Brewer
27   Environmental Industries, L.L.C. doing business as "Hilo Coast
28   Power Company"; and Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance.
29