HONOLULU— Hawaiian Electric shareholders have approved the company’s sale to Florida-based NextEra Energy, the company said Wednesday.
HONOLULU— Hawaiian Electric shareholders have approved the company’s sale to Florida-based NextEra Energy, the company said Wednesday.
Owners of 90 percent of the company’s shares voted for the deal, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
Under state law, the sale needed approval from at least 75 percent of shares for it to go through. The state Public Utilities Commission must still sign off on the deal for it to be finalized.
Hawaiian Electric Industries, which includes subsidiaries on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii islands, is the state’s largest electric utility.
NextEra Energy Inc. said it will save Hawaii ratepayers $60 million over four years by lowering rates. NextEra said it will triple solar power production.
The deal last month fell short of the 75 percent approval needed, so the company extended a vote deadline by four weeks.
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa is one of the shareholders who voted no. He said he doesn’t want the company to rush the sale. He also said he has received letters and phone calls from HEI lobbying for the sale.
As of Dec. 31, the most recent report available, the Hawaii utility spent $4.9 million on sale-related activities. NextEra estimates it will spend $46 million on sale-related costs.
The merger costs would not be recovered through ratepayers, according to both HEI and NextEra. The company announced the proposed $4.3 billion sale in December.