Hawaii Public Utilities Commission

Wildfire liability and grid hardening cost recovery: PUC is adjudicating the extent to which HECO/MECO can recover costs of post-Lahaina wildfire infrastructure improvements through rates, including PSPS program implementation, undergrounding of select distribution lines, and enhanced vegetation management — with intervenors challenging prudency of pre-fire operational decisions.

Performance-based regulation (PBR) framework implementation: Hawaii's landmark PBR docket is in active multi-year implementation, with PUC evaluating whether HECO affiliate utilities are meeting performance incentive mechanism (PIM) targets on reliability, customer equity, and renewable integration, and whether the revenue decoupling mechanism is functioning as intended.

Distributed energy resource (DER) interconnection and Customer Self-Supply/Grid-Supply tariff reform: High volumes of rooftop solar applications are straining interconnection queues; PUC is revisiting successor tariff structures to NEM following the transition to CGS+ and CSS programs, with ongoing disputes over export compensation rates and grid service valuation.

100% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) compliance pathways and utility-scale procurement: PUC is reviewing HECO's Power Supply Improvement Plans (PSIPs) and associated RFP procurement processes for large-scale solar-plus-storage projects to meet the 2045 mandate, with scrutiny on contract pricing, land use conflicts, and transmission adequacy on Oahu.

Integrated Grid Planning (IGP) and transmission infrastructure investment: Active docket requiring HECO utilities to develop long-term grid plans coordinating generation retirements, DER forecasting, and transmission upgrades; contentious issues include cost allocation methodology and the pace of retiring legacy oil-fired generation units.