This week, Hawaii lawmakers passed a bill aimed at helping the Hawaii Electric Company’s credit rating, despite strong opposition to the House and Senate Committee chairs, which helped to examine the move.
The bill will impose a new fee on Haco consumers to help the public pay the investment required to protect the people from forest fire. But this is not what the Chair of the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, by San Jarrett Kohocalol, and Scott Matioshi, chair of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee.
He focused on the 11th -hour amendment of Haco’s responsibility for the damage to property in the event of forest fire in the future. The responsibility cap has always been an important part of the move, but Friday’s change gives the public utility commission, not the legislature, the option of fixing the cap, and how it will apply.
House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee Chair Nicole Louen said that it makes sense that the PUC has to deliberately set a responsibility cap through the process of public governance.
“This is not perfect,” said Lion. But he added, “It’s firmly believed that we are doing something positive for consumers.”
But Kohocalol said that part of the bill in charge of the commission was “put in the shadow at the end of the session.” The previous drafts had fixed the cap according to the formulas set by the legislature.
In addition, Kohocalol said, the PUC will have to decide whether the cap is applied to any forest fire or numerous fires that have occurred in many years. This would mean that at the beginning of a period of time, a series of fires could eliminate the closed amount of hack, which causes the victims to be uncontrollable or have to turn to other alleged wrongdoing, which has no benefit to the responsibility cap.
“This is a clear corporate handout,” Kohokal said, one of the five senators who voted against the bill, joined the senses.
Matoshi echoed Kohukol, saying that the authority to apply the PUC option on a timely manner will not be in favor of “some victims of fire on others” instead of every fire.
Including Matioshi to vote against the bill in the House.
In his destination speech, Lyan admitted that “there is a legitimate concern compared to an event.”
But he said that the complex and unprecedented aspect of the problem is the ability to go through the process of creating PUC rules.
Under this bill, the governor allows to reject whatever rules adopted by the PUC.
There was no new fee on customers. Under this bill, Haco can take money against fees to use forest fire prevention measures. Such security measures are widely used by utility and allow them to take money at a lower interest rate usually.
Hacksu’s credit issues are particularly severe as the rating agencies reduced its bond rating after the 2023 Maoist wildfire, which means its interest rate will be particularly high – and anyway has been transferred to consumers.
“The security part of the bill is terrific,” said Matoshi.
The story was originally published by the Honollo Civil Bat and was divided by partnership with the Associated Press.
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