Last year, legislation to facilitate financing for cables that would connect the islands in a statewide electric grid got bogged down in criticism and never made it out of the Legislature.
But this year, Gov. Neil Abercrombie has thrown his political weight behind a new bill, arguing that interisland cables are a critical step for Hawaii in achieving independence from imported fossil fuels. And state officials are working to distance the legislation from the controversial Big Wind project that helped stall its passage last year.
“Let me be clear about this. We need a statewide grid regardless of the ultimate resolution of so-called Big Wind,” Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz told Civil Beat. “The cable project is much more important than that to Hawaii’s economy and energy future than the status and disposition of any particular energy project.”
Under Senate Bill 2785, a cable developer can be considered a public utility, providing assurance to developers that they will recoup their investment, likely to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and earn an adequate return. Without the bill, attracting financing for the undersea cables could be difficult, and ultimately more expensive for ratepayers, lawmakers say.