Group wants HEI-NextEra merger fought

Life of the Land, a Hawaii-focused environmental and community action group, asked the public Monday to get involved with the potential sale of Hawaiian Electric Industries to NextEra Energy Inc.

The Juno Beach, Fla.-based energy company announced in December its intention to purchase HEI, the parent company of Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric Co. and Hawaii Electric Light Co., for $4.3 billion. To go through, the purchase needs to be approved by state regulators including the state’s Public Utilities Commission.

During a Monday event held at the Harris United Methodist Church, Henry Curtis, executive director and vice president of Life of the Land, called NextEra a "very undemocratic" company and encouraged the public to send emails and letters to the PUC to "enable the PUC to agree to do the right thing."

NextEra has said it can use its size and experience to bring down electricity prices in Hawaii and switch the state to generating most of its power from renewable energy sources and natural gas. NextEra’s Florida Power & Light Co. charges residential customers about 9.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with HECO’s rate of 29.5 cents on Oahu. Florida Power says its typical residential customer bill is about 25 percent below the national average. Hawaii has the highest bills in the nation.

Curtis criticized NextEra for its centralized model for power generation.

"NextEra wants to control everything from the top of the pipe to the bottom. It’s a very undemocratic entity," he said.

Florida Power has 4.7 million customers, whereas HECO has 450,000 across its three companies. HECO currently has almost 50,000 customers with rooftop solar, compared with 3,062 among Florida Power & Light customers. Curtis said the numbers show the company is opposed to customer-owned rooftop solar.

Curtis also questioned why NextEra would want to purchase HEI when the Hawaii utility’s customers are using less energy thanks to efficiency efforts such as upgrading home lighting and installing rooftop solar.

"Why Hawaiian Electric? Since 2008, every year Hawaiian Electric’s revenue stream has gone down. Every year since 2008, HECO, MECO and HELCO each have sold less electricity than the year before." 

The uncertainty of the utility’s future, with emerging renewable technologies, also makes HEI an unfavorable purchase, Curtis said.

"Solar panels are going to be much more prevalent than they are now. We are in a tech revolution right now where the utility won’t be recognizable in its current form. Why invest $4 billion into a dying industry?"

Curtis said citizens need to make their voices heard as the impact on the public is a major consideration of the PUC as it reviews the deal.

Because neither NextEra Energy nor HEI has filed an application regarding the merger, residents can’t submit comments to the PUC regarding the deal directly, but can comment on recent motions involving the sale.

Earlier this month two groups filed motions asking the PUC to complete plans for Hawaii’s clean-energy future before reviewing NextEra’s purchase of HEI.

"NextEra is going to fight an amazing battle this coming year," Curtis said of the recent filings, "where two groups came out and filed petitions with the PUC to find out where we are going before we decide who gets us there."

The Alliance for Solar Choice, Blue Planet Foundation, Hawaii PV Coalition, Hawaii Solar Energy Association and Sierra Club of Hawaii petitioned the PUC under a docket numbered 2015-0009.

Life of the Land filed a similar request to the PUC under docket 2015-0011.

Residents can send comments or questions by mail, email and fax, or hand-deliver concerns to the PUC.

NextEra plans to host a shareholders meeting that will be open to all HEI stockholders and which is expected to take place this spring. HEI shareholders will vote on the merger at the meeting.