Bill Text: HI SR156 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Urging The Public Utilities Commission To Honor And Comply With Its Statutory Duty To Investigate The Causes Of The August 2023 Maui Wildfires As Required By Section 269-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-04-04 - Report and Resolution Adopted, as amended (SD 1). [SR156 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SR156-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.R. NO. |
156 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE RESOLUTION
URGING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION TO HONOR AND COMPLY WITH ITS STATUTORY DUTY TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSES OF THE AUGUST 2023 MAUI WILDFIRES AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 269-9, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES.
WHEREAS, section 269-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that "[e]very public utility shall report to the [P]ublic [U]tilities [C]ommission all accidents caused by or occurring in connection with its operations and service" and mandates the Public Utilities Commission to "investigate the causes of any accident which results in loss of life"; and
WHEREAS, the August 2023 Maui wildfires, which resulted in the tragic deaths of over one hundred people, appears to have been initially started by a downed utility pole owned by a Maui electric utility; and
WHEREAS, despite this, the Public Utilities Commission has failed to investigate the causes of the August 2023 Maui wildfires as required pursuant to section 269-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
WHEREAS, further, the Public Utilities Commission has not proactively required each electric utility to prepare, submit, and implement a robust and effective wildfire mitigation plan; and
WHEREAS, the Public Utilities Commission has also neither implemented nor enforced reliability standards and interconnection requirements upon each electric utility pursuant to its discretionary authority under part IX of chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
WHEREAS, separately, island-wide grid outages and calls for conservation have occurred frequently on Hawaii Island and Oahu due to insufficient energy production, despite the finalization of a comprehensive, utility-led Integrated Grid Plan that, among other things, addressed certain issues relating to electric grid resiliency, reliability, and capacity; and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2024, the Public Utilities Commission conducted a briefing with an electric utility in regard to the recent island-wide grid outages, to which the public was denied access; and
WHEREAS, the Public Utilities Commission has allowed a Maui electric utility, which currently relies mostly on fossil fuel generation, to retire its power plant facilities in Kahului and Maalaea by 2027 due to unavailable parts, despite insufficient sources of replacement for the electricity that is currently being generated; and
WHEREAS, the Public Utilities Commission has allowed the electric utility to cancel, delay, or pause additional energy procurements for Maui, which could also serve, and help rebuild, Lahaina; and
WHEREAS, the Public Utilities Commission has allowed electric utilities to determine procurement timelines of renewable energy and to lengthen the timeline for the issuance of new Requests for Proposals and for new renewable energy generation to be contracted, approved, and operational; and
WHEREAS, the Public Utilities Commission has allowed an electric utility to place additional burdens on Distributed Energy Resource renewable generation and utility-scale resource renewable generation, thereby delaying the delivery of those energy resources and associated jobs and increasing costs to ratepayers; and
WHEREAS, an electric utility has suspended further plans for Community-Based Renewable Energy tariff projects, despite very few facilities having been successfully completed since the passage of Act 100, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015; and
WHEREAS, delays in the procurement and delivery of renewable energy generation have cost ratepayers over $132,000,000 since 2021, according to an electric utility's February 2024 report in Public Utilities Commission Docket No. 2021-0024; and
WHEREAS, the cost of electricity for Hawaii ratepayers has more than doubled over the last three years, and Hawaii ratepayers bear the highest cost of energy in the United States, which is thirty-four percent higher than the next highest state; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to honor and comply with its statutory duty to investigate the causes of the August 2023 Maui wildfires as required by section 269-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to formally open a docket, in accordance with section 269-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to investigate the causes of the August 2023 Maui wildfires; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to request from the County of Maui an unredacted version of the investigative findings of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Response Team and Honolulu Field Office that were, or will be, provided to the Maui Fire Department for inclusion in the Maui Fire Department's origin and cause report for the August 2023 Maui wildfires; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to regulate each electric utility more proactively in the public interest and use its investigatory powers to examine the condition of each electric utility pursuant to section 269‑7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to ensure that essential electric utility services are delivered to consumers in a safe, reliable, economical, and environmentally sound manner; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to require each electric utility to prepare, submit, and implement a robust and effective wildfire mitigation plan; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to implement reliability standards and interconnection requirements for each electric utility pursuant to part IX of chapter 269, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to proactively direct each electric utility to implement a frequently reviewed, systematic, and recurring renewable energy procurement plan, which shall include plans for Distributed Energy Resource renewable generation, utility-scale resource renewable generation, and Community-Based Renewable Energy projects, to replace aging fossil fuel power plant facilities and achieve the State's Renewable Portfolio Standards established by section 269-92, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is urged to publicly share information relating to the briefing with the electric utility that occurred on March 4, 2024, including any resulting findings, recommendations, and directives of the Public Utilities Commission; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission.
Public Utilities Commission; Electric Utilities; Investigation; August 2023 Maui Wildfire; Utility Conditions; Wildfire Mitigation Plan; Reliability Standards and Interconnection Requirements; Renewable Energy Procurement Plans; Informational Briefing; Report
