HI HR51

Urges all Hawaii electrical utilities to adopt policies supporting micro-grids and self-sufficient residential solar photovoltaic systems with battery storage for the future electrical grid

Identifies Hawaii's highest-in-the-nation electricity rates as stemming from reliance on imported oil and an outdated utility business model unchanged for over a century

Defines micro-grids as interconnected loads and distributed energy resources that can operate in grid-connected mode or island mode, and solar systems as photovoltaic installations with battery storage that can provide excess energy to the grid

Compares the current centralized electrical grid system to outdated mainframe computers, and proposes micro-grids as analogous to modern personal computers for decentralized energy processing

Directs certified copies to be transmitted to Hawaiian Electric Industries, Hawaiian Electric Company, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, and the Public Utilities Commission