Hawaii Public Utilities Commission

Post-Lahaina wildfire grid safety and liability framework: The PUC is overseeing HECO and MECO compliance with Commission-ordered wildfire mitigation plans, including mandatory de-energization protocols, accelerated undergrounding feasibility studies, and enhanced vegetation management audits. Legislative pressure for a wildfire fund analogous to California's AB 1054 mechanism remains active.

100% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) compliance pathway: Hawaii's RPS mandate requires 100% renewable electricity by 2045. All three IOUs are under active PUC review of their integrated grid planning (IGP) filings, with scrutiny focused on whether procurement timelines, storage commitments, and grid interconnection queues are sufficient to meet interim milestones.

Distributed Energy Resources (DER) compensation and Customer Grid-Supply tariff reform: The PUC is revisiting export compensation rates for rooftop solar customers following years of declining credits under the Customer Self-Supply and Customer Grid-Supply programs. Stakeholders are pressing for a new value-of-DER framework that reflects time-of-use grid benefits and avoids cross-subsidization concerns.

HECO financial stability and cost-of-capital proceedings: Following the collapse of the NextEra acquisition and wildfire-related liabilities, HECO's credit rating downgrades have raised its financing costs. The PUC is scrutinizing HECO's pending rate case to determine appropriate return on equity and capital structure given elevated financial risk and the need to attract infrastructure investment.

Grid resilience and undergrounding cost recovery: All three IOUs have filed or are expected to file tariff amendments seeking recovery of accelerated undergrounding and covered conductor projects. The PUC must balance ratepayer affordability—Hawaii already has the highest residential electricity rates in the nation—against the urgency of fire-risk mitigation capital expenditures.