Governor will reassess interim choice for PUC

Gov. Neil Abercrombie will meet with his interim appointee to the state Public Utilities Commission to ask whether he still wants the job and is in alignment with the governor’s energy agenda.

Abercrombie appointed Michael Champley, a Maui-based energy consultant, in September to fill a vacancy on the PUC. The appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation, but the governor has not forwarded Champley’s name to the Senate for review.

Donalyn Dela Cruz, the governor’s spokes­woman, said Friday that Abercrombie wants to talk with Champley about whether he still wants to serve and whether he supports the governor’s energy policies. "We would just like to hear from him," she said.

Champley could not be reached for comment.

Champley was involved in several votes since joining the PUC that did not sit well with the Abercrombie administration.

In September Champley was part of a unanimous PUC decision rejecting a controversial plan by Hawaiian Electric Co. to buy 16 million gallons of locally produced biofuel for electricity generation from a Hawaii island venture called Aina Koa Pono.

The commissioners said the high cost of the alternative fuel was too much for ratepayers to bear. The PUC estimated that the difference between the cost of the biofuel — made from plants — and the petroleum-based fuel it was intended to replace would have resulted in utility customers paying at least $100 million more over the 20-year life of the contract.

The ruling was a blow to the state’s effort to have 40 percent of Hawaii’s electricity generated from renewable sources by 2030.

William Kaneko, Abercrombie’s campaign manager, who leads the transition team that screens the governor’s appointments, has also served as a lobbyist for Aina Koa Pono.

Champley also voted to halt a plan by HECO to help consumers finance solar water heaters. The commission questioned whether the utility’s "Simply Solar" proposal was cost-effective and whether it pre-empted the commission’s broader study of on-bill financing.

Abercrombie has appointed Champley and Hermina Morita, a former state lawmaker, to the PUC. John Cole, the third member of the commission, has a term that expires at the end of June.

"They’re not happy with PUC decisions," one source close to the PUC said.

Champley, a senior executive with an electric and gas energy company on the mainland before relocating to the islands, is well regarded in the environmental community.

"He knows what it’s going to take to clear the path for renewable energy in Hawaii," said Jeff Miku­lina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation, which used Champley as a consultant.