STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.422

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1682

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 1682 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NET ENERGY METERING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to increase the caps on the allowable customer-generator generating capacity and the total energy generating capacity produced by eligible customer-generators under Hawaii's net energy metering law.

The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism submitted testimony supporting the intent of this measure. Hawaiian Electric Company and its subsidiaries submitted testimony opposing this measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs provided comments on this measure.

Specifically, this measure increases the eligibility for net energy metering from 10 kilowatts to 100 kilowatts, establishes a quarterly billing period, and establishes a panel to determine how much the producer shall be paid by the utility.

Your Committee finds that the goal of increasing renewable resources is consistent with the State's Energy Policy Act. Net metering is one manner in which to accomplish this goal.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting amendments to the definitions of "eligible customer-generator" and "net energy metering", and to sections 269-103 and 269-105 to 269-110, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Deleting the proposed increase on the kilowatt cap from 10 to 100 kilowatts and instead, removing the cap altogether; and

(3) Deleting the proposed increase of a utility company's customer-generated energy system ceiling to 5 per cent of an electric company's system peak, and instead, incrementally increasing the percentage .5 per cent every two years to 2020.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1682, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1682, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

		____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair