The state Consumer Advocate asked the state to suspend or dismiss Hawaiian Electric Co.’s application to bring liquefied natural gas to the islands for power generation.

Lawyers for the Division of Consumer Advocacy said in a filing made public Thursday that the Public Utilities Commission should suspend or dismiss HECO’s application to use LNG because the plan is dependent upon multiple decisions that state regulators are still reviewing.

HECO in May asked the PUC to approve a $458 million plan to convert its power-generating units on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island to LNG. HECO said it expects LNG will save customers between $850 million and $3.7 billion over 20 years. The amount depends on future oil prices, the utility said.

The Consumer Advocate’s filing said the LNG plan is “conditioned” on the commission’s approval of NextEra Energy Inc.’s $4.3 billion purchase of the electrical utility’s’ parent company and relies on assumptions and projections set forth in the utility’s 30-year power supply plans filed April 1.

Hawaiian Electric Co.’s LNG plan also depends on the approval of the construction of a new power plant, which would cost $859 million.

All three requests have yet to be approved by the PUC.

“The Hawaiian Electric Companies have failed to coordinate this application with related Hawaiian Electric Companies’ applications and pending commission docketed matters,” the Consumer Advocate said in the filing. “It would not be prudent to require the allocation of any resources to this proceeding until a final determination has been made in (the other applications).”

Some in the energy community criticized HECO’s LNG application in May, calling it “outrageous” and “premature” because the utility is seeking stakeholder engagement for its 30-year power plan.

In August, Gov. David Ige said he was against HECO’s use of LNG and that his administration would oppose it because it distracts from the state’s goal to achieve 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2045.

Depending on PUC approval, HECO said it expects to begin using liquefied natural gas as soon as 2021. HECO has a 20-year contract with Fortis Energy Hawaii Inc. to bring in LNG from northeastern British Columbia.

The Consumer Advocate’s filing said HECO could refile an application that reflects the most current facts, assumptions and supporting analyses if the commission decides to dismiss HECO’s liquefied natural gas application.