S.B. 839 Summary

• Establishes the Hawaii Electricity Reliability Surcharge Special Fund to support renewable energy development and grid reliability operations under the Public Utilities Commission's oversight.

• Requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish mandatory reliability standards and interconnection requirements for all users of the Hawaii electric system and determine which party bears associated costs.

• Mandates the Commission distinguish between interconnection facilities (customer responsibility) and utility network upgrades (transmission provider responsibility), following Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 2003 standards.

• Establishes timelines and requirements for interconnection procedures for utility-scale renewable energy projects of 5 megawatts or larger, including interim reporting requirements and penalties for non-compliance including forfeiture of performance incentives.

• Requires a Hawaii Electricity Reliability Administrator surcharge on investor-owned electric utility customer bills beginning January 1, 2024, with proceeds deposited into the special fund subaccount to cover the Administrator's full operational costs.