[§269‑163] Green infrastructure financing order.
HRS §269-163
in effect269-163. [§269‑163] Green infrastructure financing
order.
(a) The public utilities commission shall issue its financing
order as final or if a finding in subsection (b) cannot be made, its denial of
a financing order, as expeditiously as possible and in any event within ninety
days from the date the completed application is submitted.
(b) The public utilities commission may issue
a financing order if the public utilities commission finds that the creation of
the green infrastructure property to secure the payment of the bonds, including
the imposition of the green infrastructure fee, will facilitate the acquisition
of low-cost financing, pursuant to an application under section 269-162.
(c) The public utilities commission shall
include all of the following in a financing order:
(1) The maximum amount of bonds to be issued by the
State acting through the department under the financing order;
(2) A description of the green infrastructure
property, the creation of which property is authorized by the financing order;
(3) A description of the financing costs that will be
recoverable through green infrastructure fees, including any reserves or
overcollateralization amounts required by the department to secure payment of
the bonds;
(4) A description of the methodology to be applied by
the public utilities commission, on behalf of the department, for calculating
the green infrastructure fee, including the allocation of financing costs among
electric utilities and customer classes;
(5) A description of the formulaic adjustment
mechanism to be used by the public utilities commission, on behalf of the
department, to adjust the green infrastructure fee in order to ensure that the
amount of the green infrastructure fee projected to be collected shall be
sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds, and all related
financing costs on a timely basis, including the funding or maintenance of any
reserves required to be maintained by the department;
(6) The term of the bonds, as proposed by the
department, during which term the green infrastructure fee shall continue to be
collected and pledged to pay the bonds, which term shall automatically be
extended by the term of any refunding bonds, as approved in a subsequent
financing order, issued in such principal amounts as the department may
determine to be necessary to refund the bonds that are the subject of the
original financing order;
(7) A requirement that the electric utilities,
including any successors, serve as agents to collect the green infrastructure
fee and transfer those surcharges to the trustee or other financing party as
required by the financing order and any agreements with the department;
(8) The procedures to be followed by the electric
utilities in the event of nonpayment or partial payment of the green
infrastructure fee by the electric utilities' customers, which procedures shall
be consistent with the public utilities commission approved procedures for nonpayment
and partial payment of rates, charges, and fees under the electric utilities'
tariffs;
(9) The distribution of the total amounts collected
by the electric utilities for amounts billed to customers for the electric
utilities' rates, fees, the green infrastructure fee, other public utilities
commission approved fees, and for associated taxes, in the event of partial
payments of the billed amounts;
(10) Terms satisfactory to the public utilities
commission to ensure that the green infrastructure fee shall be nonbypassable
and will be paid by all existing and future customers of an electric utility or
any successor; and
(11) Any other provision the public utilities
commission considers appropriate to ensure the full and timely imposition,
charging, collection, and adjustment, pursuant to an approved adjustment
mechanism, of the green infrastructure fee described in this subsection.
The electric utilities serving as billing and
collecting agents shall be parties to the proceedings in which the financing
order or orders are issued.
(d) The public utilities commission, in a
financing order, may permit the department flexibility in establishing the
terms and conditions for the bonds to accommodate changes in market conditions,
including repayment schedules, interest rates, financing costs, collateral
requirements, required debt service and other reserves, and the ability of the
department, at its option, to effect a series of issuances of bonds and
correlated assignments, sales, pledges, or other transfers of green
infrastructure property. Any changes made under this section to terms and
conditions for the bonds shall be in conformance with the financing order.
(e) At the request of the department, the
public utilities commission shall determine, in accordance with the adjustment
mechanism set forth in the financing order, the initial green infrastructure
fee after the determination of the final terms of each series of bonds, so that
the green infrastructure fee shall be final and effective upon issuance of the
bonds.
(f) Any adjustment to the green infrastructure
fee made by the public utilities commission pursuant to the adjustment
mechanism approved in the financing order shall be a ministerial act of the
public utilities commission.
[L 2013, c 211, pt of §3]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol05_Ch0261-0319/HRS0269/HRS_0269-0163.htmFetched: 11/10/2026