Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc. wants the state to move fast on approval of its proposed $4.3 billion purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries and has objected to a suggestion the decision be delayed until June 3, 2016.
"Importantly, any delay in the (state Public Utilities Commission) review process will delay the significant financial benefits that are set to flow to Hawaiian Electric customers, as well as the more affordable clean energy future we all want for Hawaii," said Rob Gould, NextEra spokesman, in an email.
NextEra and HEI have repeatedly said they hope to close the deal this year. They need approval of the PUC for the sale to close.
The state’s consumer advocate, in a March 11 filing, proposed a schedule that would delay a decision until June 3, 2016, or 18 months after the sale was announced.
"I thought a reasonable period to have the regulatory process completed would be the 18 months. More time to do our due diligence and analyze and review this merger," said Jeff Ono, the consumer advocate, in an interview Wednesday.
PUC Chairman Randy Iwase said in February that the review process could take a year to 18 months.
The PUC set an Aug. 31 deadline for all involved parties to submit opinions on the proposed sale. The consumer advocate offered an alternative schedule.
In a joint request filed Monday, NextEra and HEI asked the PUC to stick to the August deadline, stating it was crucial to closing the sale by the end of the year.
"We believe the PUC’s order lays out a schedule that allows for a thorough and transparent review process," Gould said. "Any delay in the review process puts the ultimate completion of the transaction and, importantly, the significant financial benefits for Hawaiian Electric customers and a more affordable clean energy future for Hawaii at significant risk."
Gould added NextEra hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the sale closing sometime next year.
"This transaction effectively has a shelf life of 12 to 18 months, depending on factors specified in the agreement," he said.
But NextEra still wants the sale to close this year. As recently as Jan. 27, NextEra CEO Jim Robo said, "I remain optimistic that we’re going to be able to finalize things within a 12-month period here by the end of the year."
NextEra, the nation’s leading renewable energy company with revenues of $17 billion, said on Dec. 3 it wants to buy HEI, the parent of the Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island electric utilities, and spin off its American Savings Bank subsidiary. The deal requires the approval of HEI shareholders and the PUC.
The sale attracted a record number of interested parties, as 28 groups filed to be a part of the PUC’s review process. NextEra and HEI objected to 24 of the 28 groups being allowed to participate. The PUC approved all 28, which gives those groups the right to seek information from NextEra and HEI.
The PUC’s decision needs to be delayed "beyond Dec. 3 (2015) in order to ensure that there would be adequate time for the consumer advocate and all 28 interveners to review and analyze the proposed merger application," consumer advocate Ono said in the March 11 filing.
NextEra and HEI are unreasonable about the deadline change, he said.
"The applicants have represented that their self-imposed deadline of 12 months for regulatory approval can be extended to 18 months, but are now unreasonably refusing to provide the extension," Ono said.
NextEra and HEI said the companies have always been clear that closing by December is their goal.
"Applicants have repeatedly published and broadcasted the fact that they seek completion of the change-of-control proceeding by December 2015," NextEra and HEI said in a filing. "Applicants published the December 2015 date in press releases, investor presentations, filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and this commission."
The PUC has not said how long the decision will take.
