STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1199-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   S.B. No. 2809

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 2809, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO UTILITIES REGULATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to align statutory language regarding utility ratemaking with widely accepted utility ratemaking principles and ratemaking practices already applied in Hawaii.

The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs testified in support of this measure.  Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.; Maui Electric Company; and Hawaii Electric Light Company testified in opposition to this measure.  The Public Utilities Commission commented on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing "actually used and useful" to "used and useful" to conform with standard regulatory practices; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2112, to encourage further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2809, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2809, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

ANGUS L.K. McKELVEY, Chair