NextEra Energy hopes that its latest filing before the Public Utilities Commission will show how its proposed $4.3 billion purchase of the Hawaiian Electric companies will benefit consumers.
In a conference call with reporters held Monday morning, NextEra Energy Hawaii President Eric Gleason said the companies would file late Monday afternoon a point-by-point response to questions posed by intervenors in the docket up for decision by the PUC.
“What we’re trying to do is take on board the concerns that people have expressed, and our testimony will address every one of the concerns that were raised by the intervenors. There were close to 400 by our count. And a similar number of commitments that they proposed that we should adopt to make this merger in the public interest,” he said.
In testimony filed July 20 and Aug. 10, intervenors in the docket accused the companies of not being forthcoming with specific information showing how they would achieve savings for ratepayers, among other claims.
In July, Gov. David Ige came out in opposition of the deal, as did the state’s Division of Consumer Advocacy last month.
NextEra has said it will deliver nearly $465 million in customer savings during the first five years following the closing of the merger, as well as help bring nearly $500 million in economic benefits to the state.
In the Monday afternoon filing, NextEra estimated the average Hawaii Island utility customer would realize a total savings of $373 over the course of five years.
Meanwhile, Oahu customers are estimated to save $372, Molokai customers would save $343, Lanai customers would save $409, and Maui ratepayers would save $473, the filing states.
In response to concerns expressed by Ige in his repudiation of the deal, Gleason repeated several times that his company dedicates itself to pursuing the state’s renewable energy goals.
“What we’re saying is all options are on the table. We are totally committed to getting Hawaii to 100 percent renewables by 2045, if not sooner, and getting there cost effectively,” he said.
Among the responses, he added, were about 85 commitments NextEra is willing to make to the state, including a promise to give the public a closer look at its plans for the future.
“We’re committing to produce detailed plans in the first year after the merger closes that would be publicly submitted … to involve certain key stakeholders in that process, including communities,” he said.
The company also committed to accelerating the deployment of smart meters, including the accompanying use of its “time-of-use” rate options, which provide an incentive to reduce the demand for electricity during peak times by allowing customers to pay lower rates for electrical usage during off-peak times. Full deployment across the state is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2019. The company says it has deployed more than 4.8 million smart meters on the mainland.
“Smart grid technology will provide Hawaiian Electric with greater ability to manage its electric grids, including faster detection and restoration of outages, and will give customers unprecedented access to information about their energy usage and pricing options to help them better manage their energy costs,” according to a summary of NextEra’s commitments.
Other commitments made in the filing include:
— Supporting local control and governance, including preserving HEI’s local headquarters, management and the Hawaiian Electric name.
— Maintaining HEI’s current level of corporate giving of at least $2.2 million annually for a minimum of 10 years.
— Working with the PUC, Division of Consumer Advocacy and other agencies to develop programs to benefit low-income customers.
— For at least two years after closing, there will be no involuntary layoffs as a result of the transaction, and compensation and benefits offered to employees will be substantially comparable to those provided prior to the merger.
The companies also filed last week their opposition to a request by the Division of Consumer Advocacy for the PUC to order the CEOs of NextEra and Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. to submit to oral depositions.
The consumer advocate argued in an Aug. 22 filing that the CEOs should be compelled to respond to questions that their responses filed with the PUC had failed to answer.
The Division of Consumer Advocacy “asserts without sufficient legal, factual or record support that the chief executive officer of each of NextEra Energy and the parent company of the Hawaiian Electric Companies should be ordered to submit to depositions,” the Thursday filing reads.
The companies argue that there is no applicable state law, including the PUC’s rules and procedural orders, for such an order, while maintaining that there is no need for the depositions because the “applicants have already provided the information sought by the consumer advocate, which is included in the hundreds of pages of applicants’ direct testimonies and approximately 40,000 pages of applicants’ responses to information requests from the consumer advocate and other parties,” the filing reads.
The PUC has said a decision on the merger could take until June 2016.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
