Hawaii Public Utilities Commission

• Jan 14, 2026

  Jon ItomuraAppointment · Chair

  Gov. Josh Green appointed longtime consumer advocate Jon Itomura as PUC Chair, succeeding Leo Asuncion who stepped down in November 2025.

• Nov 17, 2025

  Leo AsuncionDeparture · Chair

  PUC Chair Leo Asuncion abruptly stepped down on November 17, 2025 amid rising public outcry over high utility rates in Hawaii.

Address

465 S King Street, Honolulu, HI 96813

Phone

(808) 586-2020Fax (808) 586-2066

Website

puc.hawaii.gov ↗

Utility landscape

• Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) IOU

  Oahu, including Honolulu metropolitan area; largest electric utility in Hawaii

  Subject to ongoing PUC scrutiny following the August 2023 Maui wildfires; HECO filed a comprehensive grid resilience and vegetation management plan as required by the Commission. Parent company HEI agreed to acquisition by NextEra Energy in 2023, though the deal was later terminated; HECO now operates independently under intensified regulatory oversight.

• Maui Electric Company (MECO) IOU

  Maui, Molokai, and Lanai islands

  Operating under heightened post-wildfire regulatory conditions; PUC has imposed enhanced reporting requirements on vegetation management and grid hardening following the Lahaina fire. MECO faces significant capital expenditure requirements to modernize aging infrastructure while managing rate impacts on customers.

• Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) IOU

  Hawaii Island (Big Island)

  Navigating high penetration of distributed rooftop solar and intermittency challenges given volcanic terrain and isolated grid. HELCO has been active in procuring battery energy storage and pursuing grid modernization investments reviewed under PUC integrated grid planning proceedings.

• Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) coop

  Kauai Island, serving approximately 35,000 accounts

  KIUC has achieved some of the highest renewable penetration rates in the U.S., exceeding 70% on an annual basis through solar-plus-storage contracts. Rate proceedings have focused on cost recovery for long-term renewable power purchase agreements and grid reliability investments.

• Board of Water Supply (BWS) – Honolulu muni

  City and County of Honolulu, Oahu

  Though primarily regulated by its own board rather than the PUC, BWS faces PUC-adjacent scrutiny related to water system reliability and infrastructure funding. Ongoing concerns about aquifer sustainability and Red Hill fuel contamination remediation continue to drive capital planning discussions.

Key issues

• 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.

Upcoming

• 2026-09-15

  Estimated deadline for HECO to submit updated Wildfire Mitigation Plan progress report and vegetation management audit results to the PUC, per Commission Order issued in 2025 docket proceedings (estimated; confirm in active docket schedule).

• 2026-10-01

  Estimated evidentiary hearing commencement in HECO general rate case (Docket No. 2025-0xxx); proceeding expected to address wildfire cost recovery, ROE adjustment, and grid modernization capital expenditures. Precise date subject to PUC procedural scheduling order (estimated).

• 2026-11-30

  Estimated deadline for all three IOUs (HECO, MECO, HELCO) to file updated Integrated Grid Planning reports reflecting revised renewable procurement schedules and battery storage interconnection timelines consistent with 2045 RPS compliance (estimated; based on biennial IGP cycle).

• 2027-01-15

  Estimated PUC decision expected on revised DER export compensation tariff framework following completion of the value-of-DER stakeholder working group process initiated in 2025; decision will set new Customer Grid-Supply credit rates affecting tens of thousands of rooftop solar customers statewide (estimated).