Bill > SB143

This bill aims to encourage and facilitate the development and use of microgrids at the various campuses and facilities operated by the University of Hawaii. It does this by exempting microgrids that promote and serve public higher education institutions from regulation as a public utility by the Public Utilities Commission. The bill defines a "microgrid" as a localized electrical system with distributed energy resources, powered by a renewable energy system, that can include several adjacent or nearby properties and operate either independently of or in parallel with the utility grid. The bill also adds a definition for "microgrid" to the existing public utility law.