RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Hawaii is unique among the fifty states in its dependence on imported oil; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is dependent on imported oil for over ninety per cent of its energy needs, making the State the most vulnerable of all the states in the nation to the disruption of its economy and way of life in the event of a disruption in the world oil market or rapid oil price increases; and

WHEREAS, for these reasons, the development of nonfossil fuel producers utilizing renewable resources is vitally necessary to reduce Hawaii's dependence on imported oil, as well as to reduce electricity rates for Hawaii's rate payers, contribute to the economy, and reduce the environmental impact caused by the consumption of fossil fuels; and

WHEREAS, a number of nonfossil fuel producers have found tremendous difficulties in negotiating long-term purchase power contracts to allow these nonfossil fuel producers to be able to generate electricity for residents of the State in an environmentally responsible manner; and

WHEREAS, nonfossil fuel producers have contributed significantly to the local economy by investing significant amounts of capital in start-up costs and maintenance and by employing many local residents to operate their facilities; and

WHEREAS, perhaps even more importantly, nonfossil fuel producers have reduced fossil fuel requirements (and pollution) by thousands of barrels of oil per year, which also translates into an annual decrease of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to ensure that nonfossil fuel producers are able to negotiate and enter into timely power purchase agreements to ensure lower electricity rates, reduce the State's dependence on imported oil; stimulate the local economy; and reduce the environmental impact caused by the consumption of fossil fuels; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the House of Representatives concurring, that the public Utilities Commission and the Division of Consumer Advocacy are requested to review the process to negotiate power purchase agreements and develop a method to expedite negotiations, including the development of standardized contracts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public Utilities Commission and the Division of Consumer Advocacy are further requested to:

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission and the Consumer Advocate, who is, in turn, requested to transmit copies to the major nonfossil fuel generated power providers doing business in each county.