RELATING TO ELECTRIC ENERGY.

SB2497

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2497

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to electric energy
.

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

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SECTION
1
.
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The legislature finds that the public
utilities commission relies on bill impact analyses prepared and modeled by
electric utilities for proposed energy projects that estimate residential
customer bill impacts to evaluate affordability.
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Electric utilities routinely submit customer
bill impact analyses to the public utilities commission in applications for
approval of energy generation power purchase agreements and other major
resource additions, which inform the commission's public-interest
determinations.
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However, in
generation-related proceedings, these analyses rely heavily on assumptions
developed by the electric utilities that are not fully disclosed to
ratepayers.
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Instead, ratepayers are
typically presented only with an estimated monthly dollar impact for a
residential customer using five hundred kilowatt hours per month, with little
to no transparency into the assumptions, calculations, or modeling underlying
those estimates, limiting meaningful evaluation and appropriateness of the
utilities' bill impact analyses.

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The legislature further finds that
according to the United States Energy Information Administration, Hawaii's cost
of electric energy for residential, commercial, and industrial ratepayers
consistently ranks the highest in the nation, despite progress made toward
integrating renewable energy resources into the electric system in a manner
intended to improve affordability.
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Previously contracted energy generation and energy storage projects that
have been delayed or terminated due to inflation, supply chain constraints, and
changes in federal incentives have only exacerbated this affordability
problem.
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Additionally, long-range
utility forecast changes materially affect projected resource needs, costs, and
rates.
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As a result, failure to disclose
and update the assumptions behind customer bill impact projections prevents
ratepayers from evaluating and determining whether a proposed project is in the
public interest and whether the projected bill impacts are reasonable, current,
and accurate.

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The legislature also finds that access to and
transparency of assumptions, methodology, and outputs of the bill impact
analyses can empower ratepayers, increase cost‑effectiveness, enable
economic analysis for affordability, improve decision‑making, maximize
the value of investments and technologies, promote economic development,
improve operational efficiency, and assist in evaluating grid stabilizing
investments.
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Additionally, annual
reporting and examination of actual monthly dispatch and levelized cost of
energy data based on such dispatch is practical and highly useful for
transparency and comparison purposes.

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Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to
require electric utilities to provide transparent customer bill impact analyses
that are accessible to the public and updated with current data and assumptions
prior to the commission's decision‑making.

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SECTION
2
.
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Section 269-47, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

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"[
[
]�269
-47[
]
]
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Electric power systems data access and
transparency; principles.
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(a)
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The commission, in carrying out its
responsibilities under this chapter, shall consider the value of improving
electric power systems data access and transparency within the State in order
to empower ratepayers, improve decision-making related to reliability and
operational efficiency of the electric system, maximize the value of grid
modernization technologies and investments, and promote innovation and economic
development opportunities related to electric power systems data analysis.

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(b)
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In advancing the public interest, the commission shall balance consumer
privacy, critical infrastructure security, grid modernization, and economic
innovation considerations associated with electric power systems data access
and transparency, including but not limited to the following principles:

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(1)
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Enabling
ratepayers to access their energy consumption and production data;

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(2)
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Enabling
ratepayers to authorize third-party data access, and allow verification of
third-party authorization through electronic signature;

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(3)
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Increasing
the amount of publicly-available data related to utility generation,
transmission, and distribution systems, as well as non-utility data from third
parties that provide generation or non-wire alternatives to individual
customers or the grid; and

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(4)
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Ensuring
that electric power systems data is made available through simple, electronic,
consistent, machine-readable formats with temporal and geographic granularity.

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(c)
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In addition to any requirements under this chapter, each electric
utility that sells electricity for consumption in the State shall submit a bill
impact analysis for a proposed electric generation or storage project to the
commission, which shall provide full disclosure to ratepayers of all modeling
assumptions used to calculate the projected impact on customer bills.

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(d)
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The bill impact analysis disclosure required under subsection (c) shall be
submitted in an electronic format reasonably usable by ratepayers and others
and for purposes of reviewing and analyzing the underlying assumptions and
calculations and sufficient to allow sensitivity analysis and scenario testing.
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The bill impact analysis shall include, at a
minimum, but shall not be limited to the following:

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(1)
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Resource
assumptions that include:

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(A)
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The type, capacity size, and timing of operations for all
resources assumed to be on the grid during the term of the proposed project;

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(B)
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Pricing assumptions for each resource, including fuel costs,
energy costs, average annual dispatch, and any other relevant cost components;
and

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(C)
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The analysis period, identification of specific forecasts used
in modeling, and any sensitivity cases considered;

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(2)
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Project-specific
assumptions that include pricing assumptions for the proposed project,
including contractual pricing, annual dispatch assumed, and escalation factors;

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(3)
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Modeling
methodology that includes:

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(A)
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A description of the modeling framework and approach used to
estimate bill impacts; and

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(B)
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Key variables, sensitivity analyses, and any scenarios
considered in the modeling process; and

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(4)
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A
clear explanation of how the assumptions translate into the estimated monthly
bill impact for a typical customer, including formulas or step-by-step
calculations where practicable.

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(e)
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For the submitted bill impact analysis disclosure data required under
this section:

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(1)
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The
data shall be made available through simple, electronic, consistent,
machine-readable formats with temporal and geographic granularity in an
electronic format reasonably usable by ratepayers and others and for purposes
of reviewing and analyzing the underlying assumptions and calculations and
sufficient to allow sensitivity analysis and scenario testing; and

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(2)
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The
information shall be made publicly available without redaction, except for data
that the commission determines to be confidential for reasons of cybersecurity
or system security; provided that confidentiality shall not apply to cost,
pricing, or operational assumptions necessary for ratepayer understanding.

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(f)
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The electric utility shall update the bill impact analysis required
under this section if, during the pendency of the proceeding, any material
assumption changes, including but not limited to the delay, cancellation, or
non-selection of a planned project included in the analysis.

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(g)
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Each electric utility shall submit an annual report to the commission of
the levelized costs for energy generation and storage regarding the actual
monthly dispatch and levelized cost based on the dispatch for all approved and
operating energy generation and storage projects.
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The report shall include:

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(1)
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The
total energy dispatched from each energy project by month;

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(2)
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The
total cost incurred for each energy project by month;

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(3)
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The
calculation of the levelized cost of energy for each project based on actual
dispatch and in dollars per kilowatt hour based on the dispatch; and

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(4)
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Any
adjustments or reconciliations applied to determine ratepayer charges.
"

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SECTION 3.
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Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

PUC; Electric
Utilities; Bill Impact Analyses; Customer Transparency; Ratepayers; Reports

Description:

Requires all electric utilities to provide transparent
customer bill impact analyses that are accessible to the public in an
electronic format reasonably usable by ratepayers.
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Establishes requirements for bill impact
analyses.
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Requires electric utilities to
submit annual reports to the Public Utilities Commission.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.