STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1259-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: S.B. No. 2505

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 2505, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish system resilience as a metric to be monitored and considered by the Public Utilities Commission; and

(2) Authorize the Public Utilities Commission to use amounts collected through the Hawaii Electricity Reliability Surcharge to perform certain duties.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Public Utilities Commission and Hawaii Clean Power Alliance. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Hawaiian Electric.

Your Committee finds that grid reliability and resilience are more important than ever, especially after the 2023 Maui wildfires, and given the growing natural disaster risks posed by climate change to the State's electric grid. There are trade-offs between a more resilient grid and a more reliable one, which requires great care in balancing the two priorities. This measure tasks the Public Utilities Commission with considering and monitoring system resilience as part of its regulatory supervision.

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. 2505, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

MARK M. NAKASHIMA, Chair