Bill > HB2244

This bill, known as the Hawaii Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026, clarifies and strengthens the existing performance-based regulation framework for electric utilities in Hawaii, aiming to ensure that utility rates are just and reasonable and align utility interests with those of customers. It defines "performance-based incentives" to explicitly include mechanisms for adjusting revenue, controlling costs, rewarding good performance, and penalizing poor performance, moving away from traditional models that might incentivize utilities to increase spending. The bill authorizes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to use alternative methods for setting electric utility rates and performance incentives, provided these methods are based on a performance-based model rather than solely on the utility's costs. Crucially, it mandates that if the PUC resets a utility's allowed revenues based on its costs, it must prioritize considering historical cost trends and external indicators that encourage cost control, rather than relying on future cost projections, which could lead to higher rates. The bill also updates the deadline for the PUC to establish these performance-based incentives to January 1, 2027, and clarifies that these provisions do not apply to member-owned cooperative electric utilities, with an effective date of July 1, 3000.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Business and Industry

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=2244&year=2026