HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

792

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO ELECTRICITY GENERATION.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that there are approximately sixty-eight thousand rooftop solar photovoltaic electricity generating facilities installed within the State. These systems have reduced the State's reliance on fossil fuels, created jobs, established Hawaii as a leader in clean energy, and advanced the State's goal of generating one hundred per cent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2045.

     The legislature further finds that electric utilities have a goal of connecting a total of 165,000 rooftop photovoltaic systems in the State by 2030.  Meeting this goal requires that the number of new interconnections per year increase from the number of interconnections completed in 2016.  The number of rooftop photovoltaic systems installed in the State significantly declined in 2016 from the number installed in 2015, which is directly related to changes in the tariffs available to customers deploying these systems, as promulgated by the public utilities commission.  Reducing the cost of customer self-supply rooftop photovoltaic facilities by expediting interconnection will make these facilities more economically viable for electric utility company customers, and increase the number of new interconnections. 

     The purpose of this Act is to expedite the interconnection of certain photovoltaic facilities of up to fifty kilowatts designed for customer self-supply to reduce the administrative burden and costs to utilities and utility customers associated with these systems.

     SECTION 2.  Section 269-141, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

     ""Customer self-supply facility" means a generating facility, which may include an energy storage facility, that is designed to consume all of the energy produced by the generating facility onsite, with minimal exports to the electricity grid.

     SECTION 3.  Section 269-142, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§269-142[]]  Reliability standards; interconnection requirements; adoption and development; force and effect.  (a)  The commission may adopt, by rule or order, reliability standards and interconnection requirements.  Reliability standards and interconnection requirements adopted by the commission shall apply to any electric utility and any user, owner, or operator of the Hawaii electric system.  The commission shall not contract for the performance of the functions under this subsection to any other entity as provided under section 269-147.

     (b)  The commission may develop reliability standards and interconnection requirements as it determines necessary or upon recommendation from any entity, including an entity contracted by the commission to serve as the Hawaii electricity reliability administrator provided for under this part, for the continuing reliable design and operation of the Hawaii electric system.  Any reliability standard or interconnection requirement developed by the commission shall be adopted by the commission in accordance with subsection (a) in order to be effective.  The commission shall not contract for the performance of the functions under this subsection to any other entity as provided under section 269-147.

     (c)  The commission shall have jurisdiction over matters concerning interconnection requirements and interconnections located in the State between electric utilities, any user, owner, or operator of the Hawaii electric system, or any other person, business, or entity connecting to the Hawaii electric system or otherwise applying to connect generation or equipment providing ancillary services to, or operate generation and equipment providing ancillary services in parallel with the Hawaii electric system under processes established in accordance with section 269-145.  Nothing in this subsection is intended to give the commission general supervision authority over any user, owner, or operator of the Hawaii electric system or any other person, business, or entity that is not a public utility as defined in section 269-1.

     (d)  Within one hundred twenty days after the effective date of Act   , Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, the commission shall develop standards and requirements to expedite the interconnection of certain customer self-supply facilities of up to fifty kilowatts, including facilities with standard configuration.  The commission may consider basing eligibility on the commission's existing rules for interconnection of customer self-supply facilities.  The commission shall allow a customer who is interconnecting a customer self-supply facility to select any rate schedule for which the customer would otherwise qualify if the customer had not interconnected a customer self-supply facility.  A customer deploying a customer self-supply facility shall not be treated as a unique or separate customer class for ratemaking purposes."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

Electricity Generation; Customer Self-Supply Facility

 

Description:

Makes the use of customer self-supply facilities economically viable by requiring the Public Utilities Commission to develop standards and requirements to expedite the interconnection of qualifying customer self-supply facilities and allowing qualifying customers to select an applicable rate schedule.

 

 

 

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