Title 15, Transportation And Utilities

[PART X.] GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE BONDS [§269-161] Definitions. As used in this part: "Ancillary agreement" means any bond insurance policy, letter of credit, reserve account, surety bond, swap arrangement, hedging arrangement, liquidity or credit support arrangement, or other relat…

[§269‑162] Applications to issue bonds and authorize green infrastructure fee. (a) In connection with the issuance of bonds, the department may apply to the public utilities commission for one or more financing orders, each of which financing orders authorizes the following: (b) …

[§269‑163] Green infrastructure financing order. (a) The public utilities commission shall issue its financing order as final or if a finding in subsection (b) cannot be made, its denial of a financing order, as expeditiously as possible and in any event within ninety days from t…

[§269‑164] Green infrastructure property. (a) The green infrastructure property shall be created simultaneously with the issuance of the bonds and shall immediately vest in the department, which shall pledge and create a lien on the property, together with all other money in the …

[§269‑165] Bonds financing order. (a) A financing order shall remain in effect until the bonds issued under the financing order and all financing costs related to the bonds have been paid in full or defeased by their terms. A financing order shall remain in effect and unabated no…

[§269-166] Green infrastructure fee; nonbypassable. (a) The public utilities commission may create, pursuant to a financing order approved pursuant to section 269-163, a utility-wide nonbypassable surcharge, referred to as the green infrastructure fee, which shall be deposited in…

[§269-167] Electric utility successor requirements; default of electric utility. (a) Any successor to an electric utility subject to a financing order shall be bound by the requirements of this part. The successor shall perform and satisfy all obligations of the electric utility …

[§269-168] Treatment of bonds, fees, and property. (a) In the furtherance of section 39-65, the ownership, transfer, and pledge of the green infrastructure fee and green infrastructure property and the imposition, charging, collection, and receipt of the green infrastructure fee …

[§269-169] Green infrastructure property; non-impairment. (a) In furtherance of section 39-61, the State pledges to and agrees with the bondholders and any financing parties under a financing order that the State will not take or permit any action that impairs the value of green …

§269-17 Issuance of securities. A public utility corporation may, on securing the prior approval of the public utilities commission, and not otherwise, except as provided in section 269G-4, issue stocks and stock certificates, bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness, pa…

§269-17.5 Issuance of voting stock; restrictions. (a) For purposes of this section "foreign corporation" means a foreign corporation as defined in section 235-1 or a corporation in which a majority of the voting stock is held by a single foreign corporation as defined in section …

[§269-170] Green infrastructure loan program order; application. (a) The authority shall submit an application to the public utilities commission for the use or other disposition of amounts deposited or held in the green infrastructure special fund pursuant to section 196-65 prio…

[§269-171] Green infrastructure loan program order; issuance. (a) The public utilities commission may issue a program order authorizing the allocation, use, expenditure, or other disposition of any amounts deposited or held in the green infrastructure special fund upon the submis…

[§269-172] Electric utilities; cost recovery; billing agent. (a) The public utilities commission shall ensure that all reasonable costs incurred by electric utilities to start up and implement the loan program may be recovered as part of the electric utility's revenue requirement…

[§269-173] Severability. If any provision of this part is held to be invalid or is superseded, replaced, repealed, or expires for any reason:

[§269-174] Miscellaneous. Neither the department nor a financing party shall be considered an electric utility or person providing electric service by virtue of engaging in the transactions described in this part. [L 2013, c 211, pt of §3]

[§269-175] Revenue bonds; exclusion from debt limit. Green infrastructure bonds are revenue bonds issued under article VII, section 12, of the Hawaii State Constitution, and chapter 39, part III, as modified by this part, and the department shall ensure that any bonds issued unde…

[§269-176] Financing order; adjustments to green infrastructure fee. The financing order shall include, without limitation, a procedure to require the public utilities commission, in accordance with a formula set out in the financing order and approved by the department, to exped…

§269-18 Acquirement of stock of another public utility. No public utility corporation shall purchase or acquire, take or hold, any part of the capital stock of any other public utility corporation, organized or existing under or by virtue of the laws of the State, without having …

§269-19 Merger and consolidation of public utilities. (a) No public utility shall sell, lease, assign, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the whole or any part of its road, line, plant, system, or other property necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to t…

§269-19.5 Relations with an affiliated interest; definition; contracts with affiliates filed and subject to commission action. (a) For purposes of this section "affiliated interests" with a public utility includes the following: (b) The purpose of this section is to encourage com…

[Part XI.] STEP-IN AGREEMENTS COVERING POWER PURCHASE COSTS [§269-191] Definitions. As used in this part: "Covered power purchase agreement" means a power purchase agreement that is subject to a step-in agreement. "Default" means the failure by an electric utility to pay power pu…

[§269-192] Step-in agreements. (a) Within ninety days of receiving notice of the filing of an application to the public utilities commission for approval of a power purchase agreement, or if an application has already been filed as of July 1, 2025, within ninety days of receiving…

[§269-193] Default of electric utility; successor requirements. (a) After an obligee provides notice to the department of a default of a covered power purchase agreement, the department shall promptly provide the electric utility with a copy of the notice. No later than twenty-fo…

[§269-194] Power purchase costs trust fund. (a) There is established outside the state treasury the power purchase costs trust fund to be administered by the department. The department shall establish and maintain two separate accounts within the fund, the first account to be uti…

[§269-195] Reserve account; establishment. (a) By August 1, 2025, the public utilities commission shall create a surcharge, referred to as reserve fees, which shall be deposited into an account within the fund and be pledged to secure and be applied to the repayment of payment ob…

[§269-196] Electric utility; agent of the department. (a) To implement the requirements of this part, the department shall designate the electric utility or its successor to act as an agent of the department to provide billing, collection, payment, and other related services. In …

§269-2 Public utilities commission; number, appointment of commissioners, qualifications; compensation; persons having interest in public utilities; authority. (a) There shall be a public utilities commission of three members, to be called commissioners, and who shall be appointe…

§269-20 Certificates of public convenience and necessity for water carriers. (a) No person which holds itself out to the general public to engage in the transportation by water of passengers or property or any class or classes thereof for compensation, between points in the State…

§269-23 Liability of initial and delivering common carrier for loss; limitation of liability; notice and filing of claim. Any common carrier receiving property for transportation from a point in Hawaii to a point in Hawaii shall issue a receipt or bill of lading therefor, and sha…

§269-25 Valuations. The public utilities commission may either upon its own motion or upon application by any utility for any order where the commission deems it advisable and to the best interest of the public and the utility cause a valuation to be made to ascertain for any pur…

§269-26 Investigation of water rates charged by lessee under state leases. The public utilities commission shall investigate charges made by all persons for water supplied to consumers for domestic uses and purposes, where the water supplied is secured by virtue of a lease from t…

§269-26.5 Preferential water rates for agricultural activities. (a) It is the policy of the State to promote the long-term viability of agriculture by establishing mechanisms that provide for preferential rates for potable water for agricultural activities. The public utilities c…

[§269-26.6] Preferential water carrier service rates for agricultural activities. The public utilities commission may authorize preferential water carrier service rates by tariff for ratepayers that engage in agricultural activities. The application process for obtaining preferen…

§269-27 Prevention of unreasonable water rates. In the event the public utilities commission, investigating as provided in section 269-26, reports that in its judgment the rates charged to consumers for water supplied to them for domestic uses and purposes, are not reasonable, th…

[§269-27.1] Establishment of geothermal energy rates. (a) The rate payable by a public utility to the producer of geothermal steam or electricity generated from geothermal steam shall be established by agreement between the public utility and the supplier, subject to approval by …

§269-27.2 Utilization of electricity generated from nonfossil fuels. (a) The public utilities commission shall investigate and determine the extent to which electricity generated from nonfossil fuel sources is available to public utilities that supply electricity to the public, w…

[§269-27.3] Preferential renewable energy rates; agricultural activities. [(a)] It is the policy of the State to promote the long-term viability of agriculture by establishing mechanisms that provide for preferential rates for the purchase of renewable energy produced in conjunct…

[§269-27.4] Community-based renewable energy tariffs. (a) Each electric utility in the State shall file a proposed community-based renewable energy tariff or tariffs with the public utilities commission by October 1, 2015. The public utilities commission shall establish a communi…

[§269-27.5] Construction of high-voltage electric transmission lines; hearing. Whenever a public utility plans to place, construct, erect, or otherwise build a new 46 kilovolt or greater high-voltage electric transmission system above the surface of the ground through any residen…

§269-27.6 Construction of high-voltage electric transmission lines; overhead or underground construction. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, whenever a public utility applies to the public utilities commission for approval to place, construct, erect, or otherwise build …

[§269-27.7] Preferential electricity rates; protected agriculture. (a) The public utilities commission may establish preferential electricity rates for agricultural activities that utilize protected agriculture to produce fruits or vegetables for distribution; provided that the p…

[§269-27.8] Electric cooperative cost recovery for wildfire mitigation, repair, and restoration costs. (a) An electric cooperative may recover commission-approved wildfire mitigation, repair, and restoration costs through an automatic rate adjustment clause or other tariff recove…

[§269-27.9] Determination of limitation on liability. (a) The commission shall initiate a proceeding for the adoption of rules pursuant to chapter 91 to establish the maximum amount each electric utility may pay to resolve claims arising from any covered catastrophic wildfires, a…

§269-28 Penalty. (a) Any public utility violating or neglecting or failing in any particular to conform to or comply with this chapter or any lawful order of the public utilities commission shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each day such violation, neg…

§269-29 Perjury. Any person who wilfully and knowingly makes under oath any false statement in connection with any investigation by or proceeding before the public utilities commission shall be guilty of perjury and, upon conviction, shall be subject to the penalty prescribed by …