There’s quite an interesting clash over Governor Ige’s latest appointment to the Public Utilities Commission just prior to the commission’s rejection of the NextEra takeover of Hawaiian Electric.
Former PUC chair and longtime legislator, Mina Morita, filed suit last week challenging Governor Ige’s appointment of Thomas Gorak to the commission.
The Attorney General defended the appointment in a letter to Senate President Ron Kouchi, which has now been issued as an AG Opinion. The defense revolves around the State Constitution’s provision regarding power to fill a “vacancy” in an office requiring Senate confirmation.
A copy of the opinion, now number at Op. No. 16-3, is publicly posted on the governor’s website.
Early this month, former PUC chair and longtime legislator, Mina Morita, presented an opposing viewpoint in several posts at her Energy Dynamics blog.
She points to the specific section of law that provides for the appointment of commissioners to the PUC.
Section 269-2 HRS provides, in part: “Each member shall hold office until the member’s successor is appointed and qualified.”
In Morita’s view, the AG opinion is wrong because it deals with filling a vacancy. However, she believes that there was no vacancy at the expiration of Commissioner Mike Champley’s term because this section of the law provides that Champley would “hold office” until a successor “is appointed and qualified.” In other words, until confirmed by the Senate.
As I understand her position, there was no “vacancy” because Champley did not resign, and the law provides that he would then remain “in office” until a successor is approved by the Senate.
Morita points to two other so-called “interim appointments,” both of which were different because the incumbent did resign prior to the governor’s interim appointment.
In a June 30 post, Morita wrote:
Some have commented on the fact that Commissioner Champley himself was an interim appointment and so was current PUC Chair, Randy Iwase. With regard to Commissioner Champley, in accordance with the constitution, Governor Abercrombie made the interim appointment because a vacancy existed to fill an uncompleted term. The vacancy was due to the resignation and departure of Commissioner Carlito Caliboso. Subsequently, in the next legislative session Commissioner Champley was nominated, and by the advice and consent of the Senate, was appointed.
In the case of Chair Iwase, I submitted a letter of my intent not to seek reappointment in December 2014 and left the date of my resignation open to allow for a smooth transition of the chairmanship when a candidate was selected. The announcement of Randy Iwase was made on Friday, January 16 (the day before a long weekend and before I could start the process of my own termination) and he was placed in position just before the opening of 2015 Legislature on January 21 to be considered an interim appointment. In both cases vacancies were created through the resignations of a Commissioner who did not complete his term and a Chair who was in a hold-over position.
Here, Governor Ige is trying to force a vacancy pushing Commissioner Champley out prematurely and subverting the law and the right of the Senate to advice and consent in the process.
See:
“Hawaii PUC Fiasco: An Unfortunate But Great Opportunity For A Civics Lesson“, July 2.
“Fallout from Ige’s PUC “Appointment” – An Overview of Day 2″, July 1.
“PUC ‘Appointment’ Subverts the Law“, June 30.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
JUNO BEACH, Fla., and HONOLULU – July 18, 2016 – NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) and Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.
(NYSE: HE) (HEI) today announced the termination of their plans to merge, effective immediately. The decision was driven by the
Hawaii Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) order to dismiss the companies’ merger application.
“As a result of the PUC’s order, we have terminated our merger agreement,” said Jim Robo, chairman and chief executive officer,
NextEra Energy. “We wish Hawaiian Electric the best as it serves the current and future energy needs of Hawaii, including helping
the state meet its goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Looking forward, NextEra Energy remains extremely wellpositioned
to execute on our strategy and deliver exceptional results for our customers and shareholders.”
“We appreciate NextEra Energy’s interest in Hawaii and in our company,” said Connie Lau, HEI’s president and chief executive
officer and chairman of the boards of Hawaiian Electric and American Savings Bank. “All of us at HEI, Hawaiian Electric and
American Savings Bank remain committed to serving our customers, and we look forward to working together with communities
across our state to realize the clean energy future we all want for Hawaii and to ensure a vibrant local economy.”
Under the terms of the merger agreement, NextEra Energy will pay Hawaiian Electric Industries a $90 million break-up fee and up
to $5 million for reimbursement of expenses associated with the transaction.
Honolulu area man, 2020:
HOW CAN AFFAWD DIS ELECTRICAL BILL???!!
http://www.ililani.media/2015/08/potential-ethical-issues-abound-in.html
Star-Advertiser
Business
Agency hires aid for filing on HEI
By Kathryn Mykleseth
July 24, 2015
The Consumer Advocate chose a Maui-based consultant to help the state agency develop its position on NextEra Energy Inc.’s purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries after ethical concerns arose over a previously proposed adviser.
On Aug. 10 the Consumer Advocate will be the last state agency to file testimony with the state Public Utilities Commission about the proposed $4.3 billion purchase of HEI.
Before the Consumer Advocate submits its stance, the state agency wants to define what it means to operate a business in Hawaii, as the Florida-based buyer would own the largest electric utility in the state.
Ian Chan Hodges of Ingenuity Underwriters signed a contract with the Division of Consumer Advocacy on June 19 to help the Consumer Advocate prepare for its August deadline. The financial terms of the contract are still being negotiated.
“I just wanted to put a definition to the concept of doing business in Hawaii, figure out what it actually means — draw some parameters,” Consumer Advocate Jeff Ono said Thursday.
Gov. David Ige said Monday that he opposed the sale after two other state agencies among the 28 approved “intervenors” filed testimony recommending against the sale with the PUC.
The PUC will have the final say about NextEra Energy’s purchase of HEI, which is the parent company of Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric Co. and Hawaii Electric Light Co.
The Division of Consumer Advocacy first proposed to hire Enterprise Honolulu — the Oahu Economic Development Board. But potential conflict of interests noted by the state Ethics Commission in an email to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs on June 5 caused the Division of Consumer Advocacy to look elsewhere.
“We were considering (Enterprise Honolulu) but these ethical concerns came up,” Ono said.
The ethical concerns, which involved recent funding from HEI to Enterprise Honolulu and HEI executives serving on Enterprise Honolulu’s board of directors, were outlined by the state Ethics Commission.
Enterprise Honolulu, a nonprofit, received a $100,000 grant from HEI in 2014. Enterprise Honolulu’s board includes Robert Alm, former executive vice president of Hawaiian Electric Co., and James Ajello, HEI executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Ajello has been the CFO at HEI since January 2009 and executive vice president since May 2011. Alm served as an executive vice president of HECO from March 2009 until August 2013.
“Enterprise Honolulu’s receipt of a $100,000 HEI grant and its current board membership raises questions regarding potential conflicts of interest,” the Ethics Commission said in a subsequent letter to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
The DCCA, the overseeing department of the Consumer Advocate, reached out to the Ethics Commission in May for guidance on the proposed contract with Enterprise Honolulu.
Adding to ethical issues of the Division of Consumer Advocacy’s proposed contract with Enterprise Honolulu were the workers chosen to research the sale.
Keali‘i Lopez, former director of the DCCA, would help prepare the written and oral testimony to the PUC, draft information questions and conduct interviews with small-business leaders about the NextEra-HEI deal.
Former PUC Chairwoman Mina Morita was another researcher assigned to work for Enterprise Honolulu. The state Ethics Commission advised against Morita’s appointment and placed conditions on Lopez’s involvement, if the Division of Consumer Advocacy decided to move forward with the contract.
The consultant will help the Division of Consumer Advocacy answer questions as to what a loss of local governance means for HECO, how doing business in Hawaii is different from doing business anywhere else and the value of the “local advisory board” promised by NextEra to help sustain local control.
http://www.ililani.media/2015/10/mina-morita-standing-against-tidal-wave.html
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Mina Morita: Standing Against a Tidal Wave
By Henry Curtis
The United States Department of Defense currently oppose the HECO/NextEra deal.
So does solar, wind, biomass, and biofuel trade associations and companies.
Three State Agencies, two Counties, environmental, social and cultural interests, and companies supporting the use of coal, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) also are currently in opposition.
In short, every party in the Public Utilities Commission docket with the exception HECO and NextEra is currently opposing the deal.
Over forty legislators representing an unusually wide cross section of county and state interests came together. Democratic, Republican and Independent legislators united in a call for studying alternatives to the deal.
Many other county and state legislators have expressed privately and publicly that they would not mind seeing NextEra go away.
Earlier this week Hermina “Mina” Morita described this opposition as “fringe” elements who lack “experience and background,” who don’t care about “all customers.”
Morita said that the fringe actions are similar to the “current state of confusion” and “meltdown” occurring among “rudderless” House Republicans in Washington D.C.
To many people who are aware of Morita’s impressive environmental credits, her position on energy is confusing. But in reality it isn’t new. As a former Legislator and former PUC Chair, Morita has always believed that she has the answers, and other should get out of her way and let her do what needs to be done.
Ikaika Ramones wrote a column for the Hawai`i Independent.
“Gov. Abercrombie proposed the creation of an entirely new government body: the Hawaii Energy Authority (HEA). The governor intended to return the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to its role as energy rate-setter. He also stated that the State Energy Office (SEO) was underfunded and could not be expected to conduct policy oversight and provide expertise. The new HEA would have the sole goal of working towards energy independence, taking on these above duties in addition to conducting technical studies, creating reliability standards to incorporate independent providers into the grid, and coordinating private contract details.
Instead, Abercrombie’s proposed HEA failed to materialize and, instead, the PUC and SEO were yoked with these past duties, as well as the new initiatives created by the Abercrombie administration that had been intended for HEA’s purview.”
The backstory was that Governor Abercrombie was sworn into office in December 2010. At the start of the 2011 Legislature the Governor nominated Morita to be Chair of the PUC. While awaiting Senate confirmation, Morita went around the House and the Senate seeking to kill the Governor’s Hawaii Energy Authority (HEA) proposal. As the PUC Chair nominee, she did not want any other state agency interfering with her role as the PUC energy czar.
During her early days as a legislator she had embedded HECO staff members in her office. These people were on the payroll of the utility but were lent to her during the Legislative session to bolster the number of aides she could have, since her hired staff were paid for out of her House budget allotment.
Members of the public who went to her office were not informed that some of the people they interacted with were HECO employees. These aides have now risen to high positions including a HECO vice president.
Backed by a powerful State Senator and former member of the Good Government Senate faction, Morita has spent a decade protecting the HECO Companies.
On October 12, 2015 Morita used her blog to attack those who believe that energy policy is something we should all be concerned about and involved with.
In her own words,
Hawaii’s Energy System Can’t Handle a Republican-Like Meltdown
On Friday, in describing the U.S. House Majority meltdown, New York Times’ Andrew Rosenthal gave insight into the current state of confusion and how rudderless the House Republicans are. Here is his closing paragraphs:
House Republicans are not much interested in governing for all Americans, but rather for the fringe who believes Barack Obama is a Muslim non-citizen; who want to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants; who would deny family planning, cancer screenings and abortion services to poor working women; who would ban same-sex marriage, affirmative action and fair housing laws; and who would starve government of all power except to lower taxes on the rich.
This fiasco might be good entertainment if not for the simple fact that the speaker of the House is third in line for the presidency.
I am concerned that Hawaii’s energy situation could devolve into a Republican-like meltdown when ideology overwhelms reasonable energy policy and rational regulation.
One can easily paraphrase Rosenthal’s editorial to describe how Hawaii’s energy transformation is being discussed:
The vast majority who oppose the HECO/NextEra merger application are not much interested in an electrical system to serve all customers but rather for the fringe who believe a municipal or cooperative electric utility will give the customer everything they desire; who believe 100% renewables can happen in the near future but don’t want it in their backyard; who don’t want LNG because of fracking but expect electricity costs to go down; who believe solar and storage are the panacea and the democratization of power generation is the answer to all our woes they fight to retain subsidies and with the benefits going to the same people leaving many others behind and paying for it.
This fiasco (the barrage of opinions and distractions) might be good entertainment if not for the simple fact that affordable and reliable electricity is the lifeblood of a robust economy and quality of life.
While many who oppose the merger clamour their beliefs, there are very few amongst them who have had the experience and background to (1) operate a utility and take on the responsibility of providing affordable and reliable power for all customers and (2) understand the magnitude of change that is taking place in the energy sector and the skill sets necessary to navigate this transformation.
As I have said in previous posts, during this time of transformation a well-functioning electric utility requires insightful leadership, nimble and flexible strategic planning and strong analytical capacity. Detractors of the merger do not address any of these characteristics or qualities required for an electric utility to successfully navigate an energy transformation and may, in fact, hinder it with decisions based on politics and the need to weigh competing interests rather than relying on fact, technology, economics and best practices.
Again, this is why these naysayers, especially politicians and the Governor need to let the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, as the regulator, and the Consumer Advocate, whose statutory duty is to represent the interest of Hawaii’s ratepayers, to do their jobs in evaluating the application and all the questions and responses to come to an evidence based decision that is in the public interest.”
Hawaiian Electric Co. said today that it withdrew its application to use liquefied natural gas for power generation.
The state’s electric utility said it canceled the contract due to the termination of the proposed merger with NextEra Energy Inc. State regulators last week rejected Florida-based NextEra’s $4.3 billion purchase of Hawaiian Electric Industries, the parent company of Hawaiian Electric Co., Maui Electric and Hawaii Electric Light Co. Following the PUC decision, NextEra walked away from HEI on Monday.
The electric utility had said NextEra’s financial backing was required in order to bring in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) and make the necessary upgrades to power plants.
“Because of the resources these specific combined projects required, one condition of the LNG contract was approval of the proposed merger with NextEra Energy,” HECO said in a press release.
The LNG application included the utility’s contract with Fortis Hawaii Energy Inc, plans to upgrade Kahe Power Plant to use natural gas, and a waiver from competitive bidding to upgrade the plant.