Rep. Denny Coffman’s bill that would transform Hawaiian Electric Co. from an electrical distribution and generation company, to solely a distribution company, went nowhere this year.

But this hasn’t stopped Honolulu City Councilman Tom Berg from carrying the torch.

He’s submitted a county resolution in support of the spirit of the legislation, calling the utility archaic and at odds with the public interest.

It reads in part: 

WHEREAS, Hawaii’s boundless renewable energy potential is bottlenecked in our archaic utility structure; and

WHEREAS, the utility’s monopolistic control is often at odds with the public interest in the world beyond fossil fuels; and

WHEREAS, democratizing energy requires the creation of a free market in energy so that we can deploy clean energy sources and our entrepreneurs can create new jobs

You can read it here.