Editor's Note: The Economic Momentum Commission, formed by Gov. Linda Lingle in 2005, was established to develop an action plan to sustain the state’s current economic vitality. The commission includes the Senate President and Speaker of the House as well as other legislative and elected leaders; and representatives from business, labor, non-profit, environmental, cultural and educational organizations and the military. Below is the portion of the report focusing on housing in Hawaii. For the full report or to provide input to the commissioners, log onto http://www.emc-hawaii.com
Hawaii is the most oil dependent state and pays the highest energy prices in the nation, especially for electricity or automobile gasoline. Our challenge is to reduce our dependence through better conservation and to better utilize our state’s abundant supply of renewable energy resources.
A major component of the high cost of electricity is the power necessary for peak usage for residential consumers. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is currently evaluating rate adjustment for peak users. This would give consumers more choice in electricity cost and allow consumers to obtain rate reductions.
The Commission recommends that the PUC adopt a time/usage rate base formula to give consumers choice and to encourage conservation and that Hawaii’s utilities move with dispatch to put in place the technology for such a policy to produce results.
The Commission also recommends that state take the lead by requiring all new state buildings to meet the energy efficiency standards set forth in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and the UH Center for Smart Building and Community Design, as well as to encourage the counties to adopt building codes that require increased energy efficiency in new construction and major remodels.
The Commission supports the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard calling for 20 percent of our electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. The Commission recommends legislation that would encourage the production and use of biofuels and require biodiesel fuel utilization.
The legislation should also include support for streamlining the permitting process to facilitate the development of renewable energy projects. Energy tax credits are scheduled to expire in 2008. The Commission recommends these credits be extended and increased for both residential and commercial renewable energy.
