Before we don’t build a rail line, we have to not marry off Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.
Gov. David Ige insists the state has to be powered with 100 percent renewable energy by 2045, so we are making a good first effort by recycling our ability to “Just Say No.”
It appears that Ige is getting his way on his call that the Public Utilities Commission reject the proposed Hawaiian Electric marriage to Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc. for $4.3 billion.
Industry insiders were speculating that the three-person PUC was split 2-to-1 in favor of approving the deal with a lot of conditions. The wrinkle was that Randy Iwase, the chairman, who was appointed by Ige, was against the deal.
Then last week, Ige redid the deal by replacing PUC commissioner Mike Champley with the PUC’s chief counsel Tom Gorak.
At a news conference last week to announce the move, both Ige and Gorak declined to say if Gorak’s elevation would mean the PUC vote was going from 2-1 “for,” to 2-1 against the deal. Ige said he never talked NextEra with Gorak.
“I have not asked Mr. Gorak what his views are in the proceeding,” Ige said. “I have no idea whether this appointment makes a change or not.”
As far as the merger deal and the fate of Hawaii’s biggest utility company, Ige is probably backed by public opinion, which despite NextEra’s heavy lobbying, is against the deal.
The statewide Hawaii Poll taken in January showed that public support for the sale had slipped from 34 percent to 26 percent and now a clear 53 percent majority oppose it. But if Ige is on the side of the angels, he still has some detractors in the state Senate.
The powerful Maui Democrat Sen. Roz Baker said she was disappointed.
”The process needs to be followed whereby someone in a PUC position is allowed to be carried over until the Legislature would come back into the session,” Baker said in an interview with Honolulu Star-Advertiser energy reporter Kathryn Mykleseth.
Critics say Gorak’s appointment is not proper and Champley should be considered a holdover PUC member until the Senate can act on his confirmation next year. Ige says nope, he has his own legal opinion saying all is good.
Gorak’s longevity on the PUC, however, may be measured in months, because there are no assurances the Senate will confirm him.
All this is driven by a governor who says he wants a PUC in step with his call for 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Of course, the 100 renewable figure applies to a legal formula; it does not mean in 2045 no Hawaii power plants will be burning carbon-based fuel. Even in 2045 it is estimated that half of the electricity will coming from burning carbon-based material.
Also as far as pollution goes in Hawaii, it helps to remember that the largest emission source in the state is a decidedly active Kilauea volcano. The U.S. Geological Survey says it “by far generates the greatest air pollution impact statewide.”
Windmills and solar panels are cute — but if you want clean air in Hawaii, don’t go to the PUC, tell Madame Pele to cool it.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
