HB 1568 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO ENERGY.

Summary

Prohibits the Public Utilities Commission from approving costs of infrastructure, operations and maintenance, fuel, or other costs relating to supplying and using liquefied natural gas unless certain conditions are met. Requires the Public Utilities Commission to consider the effect of fossil fuels on renewable energy, stranded investment risks and costs, and costs and risks of reliance on a single fuel supply or monopoly supplier when making determinations of the reasonableness of the costs pertaining to electric or gas utility system capital improvements and operations. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Issues: ✗ Energy

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2026 Last action Feb 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB1568 → HB1568_HD1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill shifted from a strict prohibition on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and infrastructure to a regulatory framework that allows LNG costs only under strict conditions. It removed the ban on new LNG projects and replaced it with requirements for the Public Utilities Commission to ensure costs are amortized by 2045, avoid stranded investments, and prioritize renewable energy alternatives. This change moves the policy from an outright ban to a cost-benefit analysis focused on protecting ratepayers and advancing clean energy goals.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a blanket prohibition on LNG activities to a conditional approval process for utility costs related to LNG, while maintaining a hard deadline for eliminating reliance on fossil fuels.

TIMELINE

Removed the absolute prohibition on LNG imports, storage, and infrastructure construction effective after June 30, 2026.

Changed the effective date of the Act from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 3000, likely indicating a placeholder or future review date.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for the Public Utilities Commission to approve LNG costs only if they are fully amortized by 2045 and do not create stranded asset risks for customers.

Modified utility agreements to require provisions where fuel supply volumes decline to zero by 2045 and include protections against fuel price volatility.

Added a mandate for the Public Utilities Commission to explicitly consider the impact of fossil fuels on renewable energy development and the risk of relying on single fuel suppliers when approving utility costs.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the authorization for the Department of Health to adopt rules for enforcing the prohibition on LNG.

SCOPE

Repealed the section in the Hawaii State Planning Act that designated LNG as a transitional replacement for petroleum.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Reported from EEP (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 260-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to CPC.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

The committee on EEP recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Lowen, Perruso, Chun, Kahaloa, Kusch; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Quinlan, Matsumoto.

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to EEP, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Introduced

Prefiled.

lower

8 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role

Legislator

Party

State

District

In committee

Feb 12, 2026

Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on CPC with Representative(s) Alcos, Cochran, Gedeon, Kila, Matsumoto, Muraoka, Reyes Oda, Shimizu voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting no (2) and none excused (0).

Documents 4

PDF HB1568_HD1

HTML HB1568_HD1

Passage Likelihood 46%

46% medium confidence

Some factors have limited data

AI-estimated based on sponsor alignment, committee composition, similar bills, and momentum. Not a guarantee.

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