Question: NextEra Energy is offering to buy Hawaiian Electric. I was under the impression that in Florida, where NextEra is the main provider of electricity, they have something in the law preventing people with photovoltaic systems from leaving the grid. … Is there a law that prevents NextEra’s customers in Florida from leaving the grid, even if they have solar power?

Answer: No, there is no prohibition in Florida from going off the grid and generating your own electricity through solar, wind or other renewable sources, according to J.R. Kelly, Florida’s public counsel, which is similar to Hawaii’s consumer advocate. However, a customer cannot go off the grid and purchase power from another source, he said. Such third-party power-purchase agreements, used to finance rooftop solar elsewhere, are not allowed under Florida law.

"To be clear, we do not have competition in Florida among retail electric utilities," Kelly explained. "We are a rate-regulated state. Under our regulatory compact, every electric utility (investor-owned, cooperative, or municipal-owned) has a designated territory or ‘monopoly’ whereby only that utility can sell electricity within that specific geographic area. There is no competition. In return, the investor-owned utilities have their rates set by our Florida Public Service Commission."

Florida’s co-ops and municipal systems are governed by different statutes with respect to rates but also hold monopolies in their respective areas, he said.

Solar-power advocates are attempting to put an amendment on Florida’s ballot during next year’s general election that would amend the state constitution to allow solar energy producers to sell it to contiguous property owners. Utilities have submitted a competing ballot initiative that would dilute the amendment.

Q: Is it common for TV news reporters to use fake names on the air? Do TV media people in Hawaii do that?

A: It is not common, and becoming less so. This question has been a topic nationally since ex-broadcaster Vester Flanagan killed two former colleagues in Virginia last week; Flanagan had used the name Bryce Williams on the air.

Throughout the United States the appeal of adopting an "all-American" on-air persona has waned in a multicultural era. Mendes Napoli, a former broadcast TV executive who runs the on-air talent agency Napoli Management Group, told USA Today that only about six of his 600 clients use broadcast aliases. Decades ago some talent wanted to seem "less ethnic," or station bosses demanded simpler names, but "I haven’t seen that in quite some time," he said.

To gauge the practice in Hawaii, we contacted news directors of Honolulu TV stations. The two veteran journalists who responded said they had never heard of anyone changing both their first and last names, as Flanagan had.

"In my experience here in Hawaii, it is uncommon for TV news reporters or anchors to use something other than their real name. Some female anchors or reporters use their maiden name. And I’ve known a couple of reporters who used their middle name. But they do that outside work as well. They don’t use one name for TV and another for their personal life. I’ve never worked with anyone who used a completely different name," said Chuck Parker, KITV’s news director.

Mark Platte, news director of Hawaii News Now (KHNL/KGMB), also said he had never heard of someone changing first and last names, but wasn’t certain how common lesser tweaks might be.

Keoki Kerr, an investigative reporter for Hawaii News Now, is among those who uses his nickname on the air, as he does off the job. His legal name is MacGeorge (a nod to his Scottish heritage that means "son of George"). The nickname Keoki (Hawaiian for "George") was bestowed on him when he was a baby.

Kerr, who has more than 25 years of broadcast experience, recalls using his legal name on air only once: "When I first started working as a reporter at KGU radio while I was in high school, I filed a story for CBS Radio News about a visit of then Secretary of State George Schultz to Hawaii in 1985. I was worried the network newscasters would have trouble pronouncing Keoki, so I went by MacGeorge Kerr for that report. It made my grandmother, who had immigrated to Hawaii from Scotland, very proud to hear my full name announced by legendary CBS network newscaster Douglas Edwards."

Mahalo

Mahalo to the two ladies who pick up other people’s trash along Kalakaua Avenue in the vicinity of Kapiolani Park. It makes such a difference in the appearance of that area. Your efforts are much appreciated. — R.I.

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.