HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

158

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the public utilities commission to protect the public interest in reviewing the proposed acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Industries by NextEra Energy, Inc.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, NextEra Energy, Inc.'s subsidiary, Florida Power and Light, is the largest electrical power utility in Florida; and

 

     WHEREAS, the company's business model in Florida principally relies on selling power generated by older nuclear power plants and those using liquefied natural gas, with relatively little renewable energy, as reported by the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel; and

 

     WHEREAS, concerns have been raised that the company has a history of opposing competition and leveraging political influence to favor the interests of the company's shareholders over the interests of ratepayers; and

 

     WHEREAS, the company has aggressively blocked competition from rooftop solar adoption in Florida, as reported by the Associated Press; and

 

     WHEREAS, the company has spent millions of dollars in political contributions and funding for campaigns to block federal and state regulations that would promote utility competition, as reported by the Washington Post; and

 

     WHEREAS, the company is one of the top political donors in Florida, giving more than $7,000,000 in political contributions in the 2014 election cycle alone, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times; and

 

     WHEREAS, Florida utilities have been reported to hire, on average, one lobbyist for every two legislators, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel; and

 

     WHEREAS, the company has a history of giving former top staffers and public utility commissioners lucrative utility jobs, as evidenced by its hiring of five former Florida public utility commissioners, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times; and

 

     WHEREAS, the company used its political clout to remove Florida public utility commissioners who denied a widely publicized rate increase that would benefit the utility, as reported by the Citrus County Chronicle and the Orlando Sentinel; and

 

     WHEREAS, the company successfully lobbied to reduce energy efficiency goals in Florida from two-hundred and twenty-nine gigawatt hours to four gigawatt hours by 2019, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times; and

 

     WHEREAS, public interest groups have raised concerns about the company's shifting to Florida ratepayers the significant financial risk and costs associated with the construction of nuclear power plants, renewable energy projects, and fracking for natural gas, as reported by The Palm Beach Post and the Tampa Bay Times; and

 

     WHEREAS, NextEra Energy, Inc., has begun a process to take over Hawaii's local utilities on Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii islands; and

 

     WHEREAS, after announcing its proposed takeover of Hawaii's utilities, NextEra Energy, Inc., has acted in a manner that does not reflect the good faith that had been promised to ensure that the acquisition would benefit Hawaii's ratepayers; and

 

     WHEREAS, the utilities have aggressively opposed virtually all stakeholder participation in the Public Utilities Commission docket proceeding regarding the proposed takeover; and

 

     WHEREAS, once stakeholders were admitted to the Public Utilities Commission proceeding, the utilities vigorously proposed limiting discovery on the merger proceedings to the detriment of broader public transparency and oversight; and

 

     WHEREAS, the utilities announced their intention to prevent solar customers from interconnecting to the electrical grid unless the Public Utilities Commission enacted sweeping policy reforms benefiting the utility; and

 

     WHEREAS, the modern utility business model, which adapts to new technology and distributed generation, is moving away from the vertically integrated business model of NextEra Energy, Inc., and toward making utilities the transmitters of power, rather than the generators of it; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the Public Utilities Commission is requested to protect the public interest in reviewing the proposed acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Industries by NextEra Energy, Inc., to determine:

 

     (1)  Whether NextEra Energy Inc., is likely to act in the long-term best interests of Hawaii ratepayers; and

 

     (2)  Whether this transaction is in the long-term public interest, including the State's ability to achieve its renewable energy goals; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is requested to consider, at a minimum, imposing strict conditions to ensure the bedrock principles of:

 

     (1)  Reliability;

 

     (2)  Reasonable rates;

 

     (3)  Competition and customer choice; and

 

     (4)  Protecting local jobs and economic benefits to the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Utilities Commission is requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the House of Representatives not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

PUC; Public Interest