(a) The commission may require, by rule or order, that all utilities, persons, businesses, or entities connecting to the Hawaii electric system, or any other user, owner, or operator of any electric element that is a part of an interconnection on the Hawaii electric system shall pay a surcharge that shall be collected by Hawaii’s electric utilities. The commission shall not contract or otherwise delegate the ability to create the Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge under this section to any other entity. This surcharge amount shall be known as the Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge.
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 269-146
Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
Electric element: means any plant, line, cable, facility, control system, equipment, or other technology used for the generation, transmission, distribution, storage, regulation, or physical control of electricity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 269-141
Hawaii electric system: means all electric elements located within the State together with all interconnections located within the State that collectively provide for the generation, transmission, distribution, storage, regulation, or physical control of electricity over a geographic area; provided that this term shall not include any electric element operating without any interconnection to any other electric element located within the State. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 269-141
Interconnection: means the physical contact point connecting an electric element to another electric element or group of electric elements that allows for the flow and transfer of electricity between electric elements. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 269-141
(b) Amounts collected through the Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge shall be transferred in whole or in part to any entity contracted by the commission to act as the Hawaii electricity reliability administrator provided for under this part.(c) The Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge shall be used for the purposes of ensuring the reliable operation of the Hawaii electric system and overseeing grid access on the Hawaii electric system through the activities of the Hawaii electricity reliability administrator contracted under section 269-147; provided that amounts collected under the Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge shall not be available to meet any current or past general obligations of the State.(d) The commission may allow an electric utility to recover appropriate and reasonable costs under the Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge for any interconnection to the Hawaii electric system, including interconnection studies and other analysis associated with studying the impact or necessary infrastructure and operational requirements needed to reliably interconnect a generator, as well as from electric utility customers through a surcharge or assessment subject to review and approval by the commission under section 269-16.(e) Nothing in this section shall create or be construed to cause amounts collected through the Hawaii electricity reliability surcharge to be considered state or public moneys subject to appropriation by the legislature or be required to be deposited into the state treasury.
