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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
148 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
Proposed |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION TO ISSUE AN ORDER IN THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS DOCKET NO. 2012-0092 TO ENSURE THAT THE POWER SUPPLY IMPROVEMENT PLAN (ORDERED IN THE HU HONUA DOCKET) AND DUE APRIL 21, 2014, ADDRESSES THE PLAN TO INTEGRATE FIFTY MEGAWATTS OF GEOTHERMAL-DERIVED ELECTRICITY ONTO THE HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY GRID WITHIN TWO YEARS OF THE AWARDING OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND REQUIRES THAT HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY RETIRE ITS FOSSIL FUEL PLANTS ON HAWAII ISLAND BY A DATE CERTAIN.
WHEREAS, section 269-92, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which establishes renewable portfolio standards, and subsequent Energy Policy Directives of the State of Hawaii support the development of Hawaii's indigenous geothermal resources as a key element of the State's diversified energy approach; and
WHEREAS, $4,500,000,000 was expended to import oil into Hawaii in 2013, and the economy of the State remains highly vulnerable due to the annual export of dollars to import oil; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaii Geothermal Working Group studied the feasibility of geothermal development on Hawai‘i Island and found that geothermal energy can be developed as the cheapest and most reliable form of base load power for Hawai‘i County, and recommended that the State support the development of Hawaii's vast geothermal resources as a high priority for the State's energy and economic security; and
WHEREAS, the County of Hawaii, in its Statement of Position in Docket No. 2013-0141, stated that "the focus for the Island of Hawaii is on energy projects that provide cost reduction benefits to ratepayers . . . and that improve and maximize integration of additional lower cost renewable energy"; and
WHEREAS, the State and County of Hawaii's priority for geothermal energy development and integration of geothermal electricity has not progressed for several reasons including:
(1) The refusal of Hawaiian Electric Industries and its subsidiary utility companies to address "Principle Issues" in its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) resulting in its failure to meet State requirements for Certification by the Independent Entity in July 2013;
(2) Numerous delays by Hawaiian Electric Light Company (HELCO) in the posting and progression of a Request for Proposals For Renewable Geothermal Dispatchable Energy and Firm Capacity Resources for the Island of Hawaii, and its failure to address planning concerns of the Public Utilities Commission, specifically, HELCO's modeling and analysis of its system, excess capacity, fossil generation requirements, and treatment of dispatchable renewable energy generation, which was verified by the Independent Observer, Boston Pacific, in its letter to the Public Utilities Commission dated February 21, 2014, which stated in part, "we find the lack of clarity in HELCO's planning inhibits anyone from determining . . . how the project solicited by the RFP should be defined in terms of size, capacity factor and dispatchability"; and
(3) HELCO's reluctance to retire its fossil fuel plants on Hawaii Island and accommodate more geothermal electricity as the most affordable and reliable firm renewable resource for Hawaii ratepayers, and the insistence of Hawaiian Electric Company and HELCO that the priority for the geothermal Request for Proposals is only performance standards that are comparable to the operational capabilities of the HELCO fossil fueled facilities; and
WHEREAS, the Public Utilities Commission has found that ratepayers on Hawaii Island pay nearly four times the national rate of electricity (42 cents per kilowatt hour) as the result of an existing HELCO geothermal avoided cost contract, which requires that ratepayers are charged the cost of fossil fuel rather than the cost of geothermal energy, and which the Public Utilities Commission has determined is not in the public interest; and
WHEREAS, any further delay of the outstanding Request for Proposals For Renewable Geothermal Dispatchable Energy and Firm Capacity Resources for the Island of Hawaii to select a geothermal developer from a qualified final bidders group is not in the public interest; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of The Twenty-Seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Public Utilities Commission is requested to issue an order in the Request for Proposals Docket No. 2012-0092 to ensure that the power supply improvement plan (ordered in the Hu Honua docket and due April 21, 2014, which addresses the plan to integrate fifty megawatts of geothermal-derived electricity onto the Hawaiian Electric Company grid within two years of the awarding of the Request for Proposals and requires that Hawaiian Electric Company retire its fossil fuel plants on Hawaii Island by a date certain; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is requested to ensure that the Request for Proposals final award is made no later than September 2014, by Decision and Order in the event HELCO refuses to make or is incapable of making an award to one or more bidders; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, and President of Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.
Geothermal Energy; Public Utilities Commission