It's clearer every day that Hawai'i's heavy dependence on oil-based energy is becoming an anachronism.

It's written in the fuel surcharge on your steadily rising electricity bill; and with oil prices holding at record levels, our current methods of generating and distributing electricity are growing unsustainable.

Large electricity consumers, such as Wal-Mart and other big businesses, recognize this: They have been rushing to install commercial-grade photovoltaic solar panels to generate their own power. In some cases, they save money with net metering — putting surplus kilowatt-hours back into the utility grid and subtracting them from their electric bill.

Such solutions are a no-brainer in sunny Hawai'i.

That's why it's encouraging that the Legislature is taking steps, albeit small ones, to encourage these efforts on a broader level, for households and small businesses.

SB 988 authorizes the state Public Utilities Commission to establish a ratepayer-funded rebate program for new photovoltaic systems. These systems are too expensive for widespread use; but rebates, along with the growing popularity of photovoltaics, should drive down costs and encourage wider adoption.

HB 2550 directs the PUC to ensure that small residential and commercial sources are allowed a certain amount of net-metered energy on the grid. That way the limited space available won't be dominated by a few large sources.

These efforts are welcome, but hardly aggressive; they don't mandate specific levels for rebates or net metering.

Nonetheless, the Legislature should pass these initiatives. And the PUC and those it works with — including the electric utilities that currently rely on high-priced oil — should be ambitious in advancing them.