Regulatory Proceedings
Please visit the PUC DMS website for the most up to date information in any of the following regulatory proceedings.
On March 8, 2010 the Public Utilities Commission issued an order initiating investigation to examine Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards (EEPS) for the State of Hawaii as established in the Energy Agreement. Per the Agreement, EEPS are designed to achieve 4,300 GWh of electricity use reductions statewide by 2030, accounting for 30% of the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). In this proceeding, the Commission will establish interim goals for electricity use reduction to be achieved by 2015, 2020, and 2025. The Commission may also establish incentives and penalties based on performance in achieving the EEPS.
On February 8th, 2010, the HECO Companies filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) seeking authorization to modify Rule 14H, the general rule governing the interconnection of distributed generation for the HECO, MECO, and HELCO grids. In this application, the HECO Companies proposed modifying the existing rule in a manner that would limit the ability of renewable energy producers to interconnect to the grid, by implementing a grid-wide cap for all distributed generation. Due to the overwhelming testimony in opposition from the renewable energy industry, the PUC opened a new docket to consider the proposed modifications and respective objections.
In 1992 the Public Utilities Commission established the framework for Integrated Resource Planning (IRP Framework) and required the State’s electric and gas utilities to develop Integrated Resource Plans (IRP’s), in accordance with the IRP Framework, aimed at identifying a mix of resources to meet near and long term consumer energy needs in an efficient and reliable manner at the lowest reasonable cost. On April 28, 2009 the HECO Companies, KIUC, and the state’s Division of Consumer Advocacy filed a request with the Commission to replace this framework with a new Clean Energy Scenario Planning (CESP) process, in accordance with the Energy Agreement. This was later recast as "IRP2" in which the framework for generation, transmission, and to some extent distribution planning would be established.
On April 30, 2009, the HECO Companies filed an application with the PUC seeking authorization to establish a two-year Photovoltaic (PV) Host Pilot Program, which would target 8MW, 4MW, and 4MW of PV at HECO, MECO, and HELCO, respectively. Under the PV Host Pilot Program, the utility would lease rooftops or other sites from customers ("Hosts") meeting certain criteria and coordinate installation of PV systems by third-party PV developers/owners. A specific focus of the program will be to target governmental facilities, including County, State, and Federal sites where appropriate. All PV systems installed under the program will be non-utility owned, and the utility will purchase all of the energy produced by the PV systems from the developers under negotiated contracts. The Hosts will be paid a monthly lease payment based on the total peak capacity of the PV systems installed at the Hosts' sites.
Included in the Energy Agreement entered into by the State of Hawaii and the HECO Companies, decoupling modifies the traditional ratemaking model by de-linking utility revenues from kWh sales. In theory, decoupling can increase energy efficiency and distributed renewables by reducing a utility's ecnomic incentive to oppose such measures. The Commission has issued an interim D&O in the decoupling docket granting some but not all of the decoupling provisions.
As part of the Energy Agreement, the State of Hawaii and the HECO Companies agreed to accelerate the addition of new, clean energy sources on all islands. One avenue for this acceleration is the feed-in tariff (FIT). A FIT is a mechanism aimed at encouraging the adoption of renewable energy projects between investors and electric utility companies. Typically, FIT’s provide standard arrangements, including published purchase power rates and specific terms and conditions, in which the utility will pay for each type of renewable energy resource based on the size of the project fed to the grid. This standardization simplifies the purchase process, provides revenue certainty to investors, and can reduce the overall cost of financing the project.
The Commission has issued a Decision & Order for the rollout of Tiers 1 & 2 on HECO, HELCO, and MECO. For more information on the FIT program and how to apply, visit www.heco.com/fit
Docket 2008-0249 deals with the standards and specifications for "mandated" solar water heating systems. The docket has considered the issue of whether to retain the high standards from the ratepayer funded rebate program administered by the Public Benefits Fee Administrator for solar water heating systems required on new homes under the mandate. At the urging of HSEA and other interveners, the Commission ultimately decided to preserve these standards, though addiitonal aspects fo the program were not retained.
On April 10, 2006, the Public Utilities Commission initiated an investigation to evaluate whether the commission should increase: 1) the maximum capacity of eligible customer-generators to more than 50kW; and 2) the total rated generating capacity produced by eligible customer generators to an amount above 0.5% of the utility’s system peak demand under Hawaii’s Net Energy Metering Law. Since then, the HECO Companies have agreed to, and the Commission has approved an increase of the maximum capacity of eligible customer-generators to 100kW, and the total rated generating capacity produced by eligible customer generators of the utility’s system peak demand to 1% for HECO and KIUC, 3% for HELCO and MECO. MECO has recently applied to move this to 4%. KIUC has a filing with the Comission requesting an expansion of thier program by roughly 6 percent.