Committee keeps utility‑restructuring bill moving after hours of debate, adopts amendments

Senators spent substantial time questioning utility and regulator witnesses over SB 3,326, a proposal to require the Public Utilities Commission to initiate separation of generation ownership from transmission and distribution through rulemaking. The PUC and Hawaiian Electric warned the committee that island grid conditions, reliability and implementation risk differ from mainland markets and that such a transition could be operationally risky; industry and some business groups urged consideration of long‑term affordability gains.