Connie Lau, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Industries, said Thursday that NextEra Energy Inc.’s purchase of HEI will help advance Hawaii’s clean-energy goals.
As the concluding speaker at the Maui Energy Conference, Lau told the 365 attendees — who had been dissecting the utility’s business model over the course of the two-day event — that NextEra Energy would help Hawaii be a world leader in clean energy.
"At first I didn’t really know why such a large company would be interested in us, but I have really come to believe that their core corporate mission is to be the leading clean-energy provider. They limit that to North America, but maybe someday it will be the world," Lau said. "It is exciting to us to have a partner that has such resources and such commitment to the same vision of clean energy for America."
Florida-based NextEra said in December it intends to buy HEI for $4.3 billion and spin off the company’s American Savings Bank subsidiary. The state Public Utilities Commission must approve the purchase and has said it will make a decision within 18 months.
If HEI is sold, then Lau will get an estimated $11.6 million in merger-related compensation, NextEra said in a regulatory filing this week.
In her presentation, Lau said that Hawaiian Electric Co. will continue to connect rooftop photovoltaic systems to the grid, noting the 12 percent of HECO customers who currently own rooftop solar.
"We need to work together in advancing solar and grid technologies to figure out how to truly make rooftop solar a grid resource for the benefit of all," Lau said.
Solar companies have blamed HECO for putting the brakes on their industry in September 2013 when the utility starting requiring homeowners to get its approval before connecting rooftop solar systems to the grid. The rule change resulted in a backlog of thousands of systems waiting for HECO approval.
HECO said as of Thursday it has approved all applications for rooftop solar systems on Maui and Hawaii island filed before November. The company said 90 percent of the 2,749 applications that were pending on Oahu before November will be cleared by the end of April.
Lau said after integrating more solar into the grid, storage is next on her list of priorities, noting she expects it to climb in popularity similar to solar. Storage systems allow power generated when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing to be used at a later time.
"It is this resource that will help us realize a future of 100 percent renewable as real possibility," Lau said. "Just as cost of solar has come down 70 to 80 percent in the last five years, I believe storage costs are poised to come down the cost curve next."
Lau said converting power plants to liquefied natural gas continues to be part of HECO’s plan to help wean the state off imported oil.
"We will continue to pursue LNG as a bridge fuel," Lau said.
Environmentalists have criticized that move, saying it will only delay the state’s shift to 100 percent renewable energy.
Eric Gleason, president of NextEra Energy Transmission LLC, and Alan Oshima, president of Hawaiian Electric Co., also attended the event as keynote speakers.
Oshima said HECO has learned from the past, and the utility will shift its role to pioneer new technology.
"We cannot dictate what will happen in the future. We have to be listeners," Oshima said. "We were reacting to technology. We’ve learned. We have to be at the forefront of technology."
HECO and NextEra were the leading funders for the energy conference held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
State regulators, the consumer advocate, clean-energy nonprofits, local renewable-energy companies and national energy representatives helped make up the rest of the attendees.
Panelists critiqued HECO as different groups voiced concerns about the utility’s business model and pace toward renewable adoption.
HECO’s energy transition plan, announced in August, includes tripling solar, reaching 65 percent renewable energy dependence and lowering customer bills by 20 percent by 2030.
Neil "Dutch" Kuyper, CEO of Parker Ranch Inc., said the utility’s goals can be accomplished in 10 years or less. "The planning at the utility is incomplete and insufficient. It lacks a view on the benefit to the ratepayer," Kuyper said.
Hunter Lovins, president of the Natural Capitalism Solutions, said the current utility plans were not aggressive and typical to a conservative utility model.
"Sixty-five percent renewable … that’s just embarrassing," Lovins said Wednesday.
The goal of 100 percent renewable was a common focus throughout the event, with presenters differing on the realistic timeframe.
As panelists disagreed on the technical solutions and policy that would help reshape the utility business model, communication and customer choice were a commonly agreed-upon next step.
Thursday’s keynote speaker, Luis Salaveria, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said competition should be a driving force as the energy landscape changes in Hawaii.
"Choice is not about a single business telling customers they should want what their business is selling," Salaveria said. "Foodland doesn’t tell you that you need to eat chicken tonight and pork tomorrow."
Customers are capable of participating in energy changes and should be a driving force as Hawaii works for a 100 percent renewable energy goal, Salaveria said.
"We have seen customers that are a lot more intelligent now then they have been," he said.
