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Senate amends renewable-energy bill to remove prescriptive rooftop target and leave compensation details to PUC
Summary
Senators voted to pass SB 589 with amendments that remove an explicit rooftop-installation goal from the bill and delegate retail-crediting and compensation rules to the Public Utilities Commission; utilities urged the PUC docket process continue.
On Jan. 29 the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection moved SB 589 forward with amendments that strip a prescriptive statewide rooftop-installation goal from the bill and leave compensation and retail-crediting decisions to the Public Utilities Commission.
The Hawaii Solar Energy Association supported the bill’s original proposal, which set an ambitious near-term rooftop-solar-and-storage target and sought to expand retail crediting for exported grid services. Rocky Mould of the association said the measure would accelerate rooftop solar and storage deployment and reduce reliance on fossil fuel, lowering costs for ratepayers over time.
Hawaiian Electric opposed prescriptive statutory changes to retail crediting and reminded the committee that the PUC already has an active docket considering export crediting for grid services. Kaiulani Shinsato of Hawaiian Electric said the parties filed proposals in that docket and that the commission is holding technical conferences; the utility urged the legislature to let the PUC complete that process.
Committee chairs said they would remove the section that set specific goals and instead let the PUC handle retail-crediting and compensation details. The committee adopted technical and substantive amendments and recorded the recommendation to pass with amendments; several members registered reservations.
Why it matters: The change reserves technical compensation decisions to the PUC and reduces the chance of statutory prescription that could conflict with the commission’s rulemaking. Proponents said statutory signals can spur rooftop adoption, but utilities warned that retail-rate crediting for exported grid services could create cross-subsidies and rate impacts.
What’s next: The bill will proceed with the committee’s amendments and with language directing the PUC to handle compensation and crediting issues in its docket.
