WHEREAS, residents of Hawaii recognize that the cost of living in paradise comes at the expense of their wallets; and

WHEREAS, the costs of housing, food, and energy in Hawaii are among some of the highest in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii imports 90 percent of its energy and has the highest electricity prices in the nation due to its isolated location and dependence on petroleum; and

WHEREAS, the United States Energy Information Administration reports that in October 2014, Hawaii residents paid 36.41 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), commercial owners paid 33.85 cents per kWh, and industrial owners paid 29.89 cents per kWh, while the national averages in respect to each category for energy costs were 12.58 cents per kWh, 10.87 cents per kWh, and 6.95 cents per kWh; and

WHEREAS, alternative sources of energy have become increasingly popular in the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, solar energy provided only 0.8 percent of Hawaii's renewable energy generation in 2007, but has risen to 23 percent in 2013; and

WHEREAS, the use of photovoltaic panels to produce solar energy allows residents to defray the costs of energy use; and

WHEREAS, the use of photovoltaic panels in Hawaii has increased over time, with the 40,717 photovoltaic systems currently installed providing a capacity of 312.3 megawatts (MW); and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's progressive energy policies support photovoltaic systems and provide incentives for residents to utilize photovoltaic energy, such as state tax incentives or feed-in-tariffs that permit owners of small renewable energy projects to receive fixed rates for renewable electricity; and

WHEREAS, net energy metering allows residential customers to obtain full retail value for excess solar energy fed into the grid, transforming unused energy into a monetary credit against future energy bills; and

WHEREAS, the rising cost of electric energy, which is a necessity for daily operations, may force nonprofit organizations and schools to cut programs, job positions, or employee pay when electrical bills consume greater portions of annual operating budgets; and

WHEREAS, nonprofit organizations and schools often struggle to conduct business or meet student needs and are forced to rely on uncertain grants and outside funding despite the necessity of their services to the State; and

WHEREAS, defraying the energy costs of these schools and organizations would allow them to reallocate funds to other critical areas, such as personnel and service provision; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the State's electric utilities are encouraged to implement a program where credits from excess energy received from residential photovoltaic customers may be donated to nonprofit organizations or schools for their electricity bills; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaiian Electric Companies, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, and Chair of the Public Utilities Commission.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Concerning Donations of Excess Energy from Photovoltaic Panels.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	67
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII