STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3164

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 149
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which
was referred S.C.R. No. 149 entitled:

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE PUBLIC
     UTILITIES COMMISSION TO OPEN A GENERIC DOCKET ON THE ISSUES
     OF OVERHEAD AND UNDERGROUND PLACEMENT OF UTILITY LINES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to request the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) to open a generic docket on the issues
of overhead and underground placement of utility lines.

     Your Committee received testimony from the PUC, Department
of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Consumer Advocate, Hawaiian
Electric Company, Inc., Life of the Land, Kauai Electric, Na Leo
Pohai, Malama o Manoa, and two private individuals.

     Your Committee finds that opening a PUC generic docket would
allow for an evaluation in a more general context to develop
general governing principles rather than in the context of a
specific powerline proposal, which is now the case.  This will
enable a comprehensive evaluation of all issues of overhead or
underground construction of electric transmission lines.

     Your Committee finds that there appears to be a lack of
established criteria to be applied by a utility in determining
whether or not to underground a utility line.  This measure would
resolve the vagaries and mysteries about how decisions are made
on whether to underground a utility line.

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3164
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     Your Committee has amended this measure to allow the PUC to
file an informal report with the legislature in order to
accommodate the PUC's testimony that it may lack resources to
file a full report.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to
this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose
of S.C.R. No. 149, as amended herein, and recommends that it be
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached
hereto as S.C.R. No. 149, S.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Commerce and
                                   Consumer Protection,



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN KANNO, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Co-Chair

 
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