Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 740, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to require retail suppliers of electricity in Hawaii to annually disclose information on the fuel mix of the electricity services they sell.

Testimony in support of this bill was received from the Public Utilities Commission, the Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) and Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and its subsidiaries Hawaiian Electric Light Company, Inc., and Maui Electric Company, Ltd. Testimony in support of the intent of the bill was received from Kauai Electric.

Your Committee notes that pursuant to chapter 196, Hawaii Revised Statutes, DBEDT annually issues reports on the fuel mix of Hawaii's electricity generation system in the "Energy Resource Coordinator's Annual Report." Your Committee finds that Hawaii's utilities and other energy providers have been cooperative in providing detailed information on their fuel mix to DBEDT.

Your Committee agrees with the intent of this bill, which seeks to increase consumer awareness of fuel choices made by electric utilities operating in Hawaii, without increasing costs to ratepayers.

Your Committee has amended this bill by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 740, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 740, H.D. 2.