Bill Text: HI HR9 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Donations of Excess Energy from Photovoltaic Panels.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-29 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on CPC as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Har, Ing, Kong, Luke, Saiki, Thielen, Tokioka excused (7). [HR9 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-HR9-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
9 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
ENCOURAGING THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM in which credits from excess energy received from residential photovoltaic customers may be donated to nonprofit organizations or schools for their electricity bills.
WHEREAS, residents of Hawaii recognize that the cost of living in paradise comes at the expense of their wallets; and
WHEREAS, the costs of housing, food, and energy in Hawaii are among the highest in the United States; and
WHEREAS, in 2013, Hawaii imported 91 percent of its energy and in 2014, Hawaii had the highest electricity prices in the nation due to its isolated location and dependence on petroleum; and
WHEREAS, the United States Energy Information Administration reports that in October 2015, the energy prices per kilowatt hour in Hawaii were 28.22 cents for residents, 25.92 cents for commercial owners, and 22.19 cents for industrial owners, while the respective national energy prices averaged 12.73 cents, 10.70 cents, and 6.88 cents; and
WHEREAS, alternative sources of energy are increasingly popular in Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the amount of Hawaii's renewable energy generated by solar energy increased from only 0.8 percent in 2007 to 30 percent by 2014; and
WHEREAS, the use of photovoltaic panels to produce solar energy allows residents to defray the costs of energy use; and
WHEREAS, the use of photovoltaic panels in Hawaii increased over time, with 54,069 photovoltaic systems installed as of 2015, providing a capacity of 339 megawatts; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii's progressive energy policies support photovoltaic systems and provide incentives for residents to utilize photovoltaic energy, such as state tax incentives or feed-in tariffs that permit fixed rates for renewable electricity for owners of small renewable energy projects; and
WHEREAS, net energy metering allows residential customers to obtain full retail value for excess solar energy fed into the grid, transforming unused energy into a monetary credit against future energy bills; and
WHEREAS, the rising cost of electric energy, which is a necessity for daily operations, may force nonprofit organizations and schools to cut programs, job positions, or wages when electrical bills consume greater portions of annual operating budgets; and
WHEREAS, nonprofit organizations and schools often struggle with conducting business or meeting student needs and are forced to rely on uncertain grants and outside funding despite the necessity of their services to Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, nonprofit organizations and schools could reallocate funds to other critical areas, such as personnel and service provision, if their energy costs were defrayed; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of
the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016,
that the Public Utilities Commission is encouraged to implement a program in
which credits from excess energy received from residential photovoltaic
customers may be donated to nonprofit organizations or schools for their
electricity bills; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be
transmitted to the Chair of the Public Utilities Commission.
Donations of Excess Energy from Photovoltaic Panels.
