STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2964

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2047

       H.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Transportation and Energy and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2047, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve the electrical infrastructure at Kalaeloa by requiring the Hawaii Community Development Authority to:

     (1)  Undertake and complete the Kalaeloa energy corridor project; and

     (2)  Submit annual reports to the Legislature from 2017 through 2019 on the progress and actions taken to complete the Kalaeloa energy corridor project.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Hawaii Community Development Authority, and Hunt Companies.

     Your Committees find that in 2010, the Kalaeloa infrastructure master plan update suggested replacing the seventy-year old electrical system at Kalaeloa in order to serve the projected redevelopment needs of the area.  However, the aging electrical system remains in place today.  Additionally, since the electrical system does not meet standards established by the Hawaiian Electric Company, area businesses and organizations cannot connect to the public utility and instead must purchase electricity from the Navy.  As a result, organizations such as the Hawaii National Guard, stationed at Kalaeloa, must purchase electricity from the Navy at the high rate of $0.35 per kilowatt hour, amounting to over $600,000 in annual electricity costs.

     Your Committees further find that implementation of the Kalaeloa energy corridor project will upgrade the electrical infrastructure, which will support redevelopment of the area and allow area businesses and organizations to purchase electricity at lower rates from the Hawaiian Electric Company.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Energy and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2047, H.D. 2, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Energy and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair