STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3172

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 170
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.C.R. No. 170 entitled:

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE PUBLIC
     UTILITIES COMMISSION TO COLLABORATE WITH ELECTRICAL SERVICE
     PROVIDERS AND ASSESS NET ENERGY METERING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request that the Public
Utilities Commission collaborate with every electric service
provider located in the State and assess the feasibility and
utility of a net energy metering program.

     Testimony was received from Life of the Land, Hawaii
Renewable Energy Alliance, Malama o Manoa, the Public Utilities
Commission, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs'
Division of Consumer Advocacy, Kauai Electric, Hawaiian Electric
Company, and two private citizens.

     Your Committee finds that "net energy metering" refers to
the difference between the electricity supplied to a customer and
the electricity generated and fed back to the electric grid by
the customer over an annual billing period.

     Your Committee also finds that an "eligible
customer-generator" is a customer of an electric service provider
who uses a solar-electric generating facility with a capacity of
not more than two hundred-fifty kilowatts that is located on the
customer's premises, is interconnected, and operates in parallel

 
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with the electric grid, and is intended to offset part or all of
the customer's electrical requirements.

     Your Committee believes that a program to provide net energy
metering for eligible customer-generators may encourage private
investment in renewable resources, stimulate the State's economic
growth, enhance the diversification of the State's energy
sources, and reduce costs for electric service providers.

     Your Committee has amended the title and text of the measure
by deleting references to the Public Utilities Commission and
replacing it with the Department of Business, Economic
Development, and Tourism.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose
of S.C.R. No. 170, as amended herein, and recommends that it be
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached
hereto as S.C.R. No. 170, S.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection,



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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