Parties mum on PUC’s NextEra ruling

All the parties involved in the potential $4.3 billion purchase of Hawaii’s largest electric utility gathered at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Tuesday and were slinging the “no comment” phrase left and right.

The state Public Utilities Commission is set to to make a decision any day about Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc.’s purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries, the parent company of Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric Co. and Hawaii Electric Light Co.

Gov. David Ige; Eric Gleason, CEO of NextEra Energy Hawaii; Alan Oshima, president of HECO; and PUC Chairman Randy Iwase were some of the attendees at Verge Hawaii Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit. The three-day renewable energy conference is put on through a partnership with Oakland, Calif.-based GreenBiz Group and the Hawaii State Energy Office.

Gleason said the silence was out of respect.

“It’s respect,” Gleason said. “It’s respect because it’s the commission’s decision now. It’s over to them. It’s their process. They have to decide what they are going to do and the rest of us just have to wait.”

When asked whether NextEra is still committed to the purchase of HEI after the sale’s contract met its first deadline on June 3, Gleason said, “We haven’t terminated yet, but other than that, no comment.”

Iwase would not comment on the PUC’s ruling for the sale. Tom Gorak, chief counsel of the PUC, said “no comment” when asked about the PUC decision.

Oshima said the electric utility is hopeful of becoming partners with NextEra.

“We’re ready, if approval comes and it moves to a closing, we’re ready for Day One,” Oshima said. “We’re fully prepared. We’ve done a lot of work. There will be no interruption. … Employees will see their paychecks.”

Oshima would not comment on any preparation the company has made if the PUC denies the sale.

“There will be ample time once a decision is made to comment on other things,” Oshima said. “The company is working and will continue to work notwithstanding the outcome.”

Ige’s office said Tuesday he is still opposed to the sale.

During Ige’s presentation as keynote speaker at Verge, he said he is against the use of liquefied natural gas for electrical generation in Hawaii — reiterating disapproval he shared in August— but is interested in exploring the use of offshore wind to get the state to its 100 percent renewable energy goal.

“We have an energy vision for Hawaii that remains very clear,” Ige said. “We are committed to 100 percent renewable energy — no more fossil fuels, including LNG especially, and no more big fossil fuel plants; a transformation into a customer-centered utility focused on smart meters; smart grid; distributed local solutions; and as much consumer choice as possible.”

Ige said the energy sector will be important for job creation for years to come and that energy could be the third-largest sector in Hawaii as the state spends roughly $5 billion every year on imported fossil fuel.

The governor said he wants partnerships to “create jobs and opportunity for our community.”

Ige, who wants the state to be a hub for renewable energy technology testing, said his office has been focused on finding different companies nationally and internationally that want to get involved in renewable energy.

“Hawaii, being in the middle of the Pacific, it is the perfect connection across the ocean,” Ige said. “We are the perfect spot to be the experiment and the center for renewable clean energy around the world. Working with our partners, and I consider all of you partners, we fully expect to be 100 percent renewable by 2045 in electricity generation.”

Also at the conference, Ige and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Dennis McGinn signed a memorandum to coordinate goals and build partnerships whenever possible on energy-related issues.

Ige said the agreement formalizes a partnership between the state, Navy and Department of Defense that had been in the works for years.

“We have been working for years in partnership on various projects,” Ige said. “The Navy and the Department of Defense have been terrific partners because they understand the importance of energy security and resiliency.”

The memorandum between the state and the Navy follows a meeting between Ige and McGinn in November. Ige’s office said the state and the Navy have similar goals relating to the reduction of greenhouse gases, the reduction of fossil fuel usage, energy efficiency, water consumption, use of renewable energy and use of alternative-fueled vehicles.

Ige said the memorandum makes potential partners across the Pacific aware that Hawaii’s work on energy-related projects is reliable and consistent.

“I have visited Korea and Japan and China and they are talking about what we’re doing here,” he said. “The partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy and what the state is doing really does amplify all of the efforts.”