It has been a year-and-a-half since Hawaiian Electric Industries announced it was set to merge with Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc. in a deal worth $4.3 billion.
If talk were watts, the still-not-approved purchase could power the state. Everyone has an opinion on the publicly traded local company.
The talk may be up as the companies have set a June 3 time limit for consummating the deal, which also needs a decision by the state’s Public Utilities Commission to approve, reject or modify the merger.
“There’s over 100,000 pages of documents, 22 days of transcripts, and the closing briefs that were filed by all the parties,” according to PUC chairman Randy Iwase, who says there is no rush.
The Gov. David Ige appointee noted: “This is an important decision for our state and we should take the time we need to make a decision,” adding that all three commissioners must be comfortable that the decision is supportable by the evidence presented.
Still there is much discontent about taking HECO’s control out of state.
In 2015, the Hawaii Poll found 46 percent of Hawaii residents didn’t approve of the deal, but this year, the disapproving number popped up to 53 percent.
Just 26 percent said the sale would be good for the state, while a year ago, 32 percent said it helps.
That public relations loss comes despite a major campaign to enlist public support for both companies.
The entire HECO-NextEra debate comes at a time when Hawaii is gaining more national and international recognition as a test bed for alternative energy. HECO, with its flickering support for solar programs, has caused consumers to vote with the checkbook as they scramble to go solar and leave the grid.
Unfortunately, the public utility getting much of the praise is not HECO, but the tiny Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.
In a recent speech, Mina Morita , the former Hawaii PUC chairwoman, called the Kauai co-op “a postcard from the future.”
Morita pointed out that four times in January, KIUC was powered by 90 percent renewable energy.
“The longest being 61 minutes on Jan. 13. However, on average in January, solar accounted for about 62 percent of its generation,” reported Morita.
The size of the Kauai facility allows it to be much more nimble than the Oahu plant.
“KIUC can do what it does because it has lots of flexibility in its system with its small quick-start generators, strategically placed batteries and utility-scale PV (photovoltaic) projects. HECO’s large steam generators do not have much flexibility to ramp up and down,” Morita said in an interview.
Morita supports the Next-Era merger, saying, “I worry whether HECO’s organizational culture can evolve its business strategy fast enough to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.”
On the other side are most of the PUC intervenors, including various state agencies and Gov. David Ige, who says the state needs a new energy model.
Critics are talking renewable energy, sustainable energy and environmentally friendly energy, but what is lost in the discussion is cost.
So far NextEra has promised much, but only offering a “guaranteed rate saving of $60 million.”
With that small a promise, no wonder NextEra is losing support as time runs out.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
