HICC Economic Development Committee: Powering Hawai'i 3 - Public Utilities Commission

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regulates electricity, gas, telecommunications, private water/wastewater, water carriers, and motor carriers. Hear from PUC Chair Jon Itomura in our Economic Development Committee's Part 3 of its Powering Hawai'i series. The State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission was established in 1913. The Commission’s mission is to serve the public, by ensuring Hawaii’s public utility consumers have access to essential utilities and services that are delivered in safe, reliable and resilient ways. As of fiscal year 2024, the Commission regulates 1,863 entities, which includes all chartered, franchised, certificated, and registered public utility companies that provide electricity, gas, telecommunications, private water and sewage, and motor and water carrier transportation services in the State. It also oversees the administration of a One Call Center that provides advance warning to excavators of the location of subsurface installations in the area of an excavation in order to protect those installations from damage; the Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) fund which provides intrastate TRS for the deaf, persons with hearing disabilities, and persons with speech disabilities; and the Public Benefits Fee surcharge which is used to fund and support energy efficiency programs and services implemented by an independent third party administrator on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii. https://puc.hawaii.gov/