Public Utilities Commission

There are many ways to get involved in PUC proceedings. You can monitor dockets, attend a public hearing, submit public comments, or move to formally intervene or participate in a proceeding.

• Monitor dockets
  The PUC has many ongoing dockets involving the variety of entities the PUC regulates. Information on energy, telecommunications, motor carriers, water carriers, and water/wastewater dockets can be found on the PUC website. Docket details and filings can be viewed on PUC’s Document Management System. You can also subscribe to receive email notifications whenever new documents are filed into a particular docket or to receive an emailed Daily Activity Report which summarizes all PUC filings for a particular day.
• Attend a public hearing
  By law, the PUC is required to hold public hearings for certain matters, including rate cases and construction of overhead high-voltage electrical transmissions lines over 46kV that pass through a residential area. The Commission may also hold public hearings and community meetings on its own motion, or based on a party’s request, on various issues. The PUC posts all hearings and community meetings on its Event Calendar.
• Submit a public comment
  Interested members of the public who are not formally participating in a docket may share their views and concerns on pending docketed proceedings pending before the Commission by filing public comments. Public comments may be submitted online using the Public Comments webform, or delivered to the PUC by mail or in-person. Public comments are most useful to the Commission when they reference or are filed in a particular docket. Note that the PUC does not reply to public comments due, in part, to restrictions on ex parte communications, which prohibits private communication with the Commission on open proceedings.  For more information on ex parte communication in PUC proceedings, see Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) Section 16-601-29.
• Intervene or formally participate in a proceeding
  Intervention and participation without intervention allow interested stakeholders, entities, or members of the public to formally participate in a PUC proceeding. To intervene, an applicant must file a motion to intervene demonstrating to the Commission that they meet certain criteria including, without limitation, having a financial, property, or other interest in the matter; being affected by the outcome; the ability to contribute to a sound record; and how their interest in the proceeding differs from those of the general public. An organization or individual with a limited interest in a proceeding may alternatively be granted participant status by the Commission and allowed to formally participate on a limited basis. For more information on intervention and participation without intervention, see HAR Section 16-601-55 and 56.