CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 7

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 1003

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

C.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1003, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, entitled:

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

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this bill is to:

(1) Allow eligible customer-generators of not more than 300 kilowatts to participate in the net energy metering program;

(2) Allow the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to set and increase the maximum percentage of the electric utility's peak system demand that may be produced by eligible customer-generators, provided that the maximum percentage shall not be less than .5 per cent of the utility's peak system demand;

(3) Authorize the PUC to amend the applicable rate structure and standard contract or tariff;

(4) Require an electric utility to provide eligible customer-generators with a twelve-month reconciliation of their consumption and production of energy; and

(5) Clarify the policy for actions taken on credits for excess electricity generated by an eligible customer-generator that remain unused after the twelve-month reconciliation.

Your Committee finds that this measure will encourage the expansion of net energy metering as more customers will seek to take advantage of being an eligible customer-generator due to month to month carryover of unused credits for excess customer-generated electricity within a twelve-month period. Further, your Committee finds that the measure provides regulatory flexibility to the PUC in the areas of percentage of peak system demand generated by eligible customer-generators, rate structure, standard contracts, and tariffs.

Your Committee also finds that customer generating systems as large as 300 kilowatts may pose safety and reliability issues. In order to foster the growth of this program, your Committee believes that more reliable, smaller generating systems provide the best opportunity to demonstrate the viability of customer-side electrical generation.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

Changing the capacity limit of an eligible customer-generator to fifty kilowatts; and

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2005.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1003, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1003, S.D. 2, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

____________________________ Hermina Morita, Co-Chair		____________________________ J. Kalani English, Chair
____________________________ Kenneth Hiraki, Co-Chair		____________________________ Ron Menor, Co-Chair