STAND. COM. REP. NO. 537

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1500

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1500 entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide the Public Utilities Commission with the authority to appoint a receiver to take temporary action necessary to assure continued electric services from investor-owned electric utilities.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Your Committees find that when a regulated water or sewer utility is failing, or there is an imminent threat of the utility failing, to provide adequate and reasonable service to its customers, the Public Utilities Commission has the authority to appoint a receiver to take temporary action. Your Committees further find that the Public Utilities Commission does not have the same authority for regulated, investor-owned electric utilities. This measure addresses this need by expressly allowing the Public Utilities Commission to appoint a receiver for a regulated, investor-owned electric utility under certain circumstances.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1500, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1500, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs,

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair