Thursday, November 21, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Monday, August 10, 2015
State Consumer Advocate Recommends Rejecting NextEra-HECO Merger
By News Release @ 11:09 PM :: 4315 Views :: Energy

State Consumer Advocate Recommends Rejecting NextEra-HECO Merger

Calls Purported Benefits Illusory and Inadequate

News Release from DCCA, August 19, 2015

HONOLULU – The Division of Consumer Advocacy (Consumer Advocate) of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs today filed its Direct Testimony recommending that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) reject the $4.3 billion NextEra Energy, Inc. – HECO Companies merger as proposed.

Consumer Advocate Jeffrey Ono believes that the current proposal is not in the public interest, because NextEra has not met its burden of proving that the merger will result in significant quantifiable benefits to consumers.

Among many questionable claims, NextEra offers flawed and broad speculative savings estimates, repeatedly touting benefits of millions of dollars in savings for customers. The company’s filings do not clearly or consistently explain how these savings will materialize to the full extent they have been claimed. This includes, for example, millions of dollars in purported savings resulting from broad reductions in operations and maintenance expenses that have not been clearly laid out despite the company having ample opportunity to clarify these and other benefits during the discovery period.

“These kinds of asserted savings based on NextEra’s faulty calculations effectively overstate the potential benefits of the proposed merger, thereby creating an illusory benefit,” said Ono.  “Since our mission is to protect and advance the interests of Hawaii’s consumers, we have serious concerns about this proposed merger.”

If the PUC plans to approve the merger, the Consumer Advocate recommends several conditions that need to be adopted to protect consumers and to immediately return merger synergy savings to consumers.

A copy of the Consumer Advocate’s testimony, as well as a list of upcoming public “listening sessions” and evidentiary hearings, is available online at: cca.hawaii.gov/dca/.

The Consumer Advocate’s office is a state agency established to protect and represent the interests of consumers  before the PUC and other federal agencies with regulatory jurisdiction over public utility services, including electricity, telecommunications, pipeline gas, private water and wastewater, and interisland water transportation.

# # #

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii