NextEra politics, Kealoha poll, and PAR workshops on the Big Island

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The proposed takeover of Hawaiian Electric Industries by Florida-based NextEra is likely to result in the loss of many well-paid positions within the local utility as the company is integrated into the much larger mainland energy conglomerate. This might include outside consultants and lawyers who HEI has relied on in the past. But there’s another thing at work. The takeover would mark a major change in political orientation. In recent decades, HEI has leaned Democratic, while NextEra is well known of its major support of the Republican Party.

For example, NextEra contributed $1,158,933 to the National Governors Association during the 2014 election cycle and ranked at #7 among the largest corporate contributors, according to OpenSecrets.org. And if you missed it, yesterday’s New York Times reported that the National Governors Association has been secretly working with energy companies to attack and roll back federal regulation (“Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General“).

During 2014, Florida Power and Light, NextEra’s major energy subsidiary, made contributions from its PAC that went to Republicans by a 2-1 margin, again according to OpenSecrets.org (69% to Republicans, 31% to Democrats).

NextEra Energy Resources followed a similar pattern, with $1,865,644 going to Republicans, compared to $816,715 to Democrats in recent elections, as compiled by FollowtheMoney.org.

Bottom line: This corporate merger could reverberate through the state in many different ways. It some respects, this shift of power could be something like what happened in the decade or two after statehood, as power of the Big Five was largely dismantled by the takeover of international corporate interests.

The Star-Advertiser is running one of their informal polls this morning. The Question: “Does Police Chief Louis Kealoha’s testimony in causing a mistrial in a family federal trial change your view of him?“.

I think you can vote without being a subscriber. After voting, you’ll see the results displayed. In initial results, the public has a dim view of the chief’s action.

For folks over on the Big Island, staff of the legislature’s Public Access Room will be over there next week to present a series of workshops to help people learn how to participate effectively in the legislative process. The workshops are being offered ahead of the 2015 legislative session, which begins January 21, if I’m not mistaken.

PAR’s workshops are between an hour to one-and-a-half hours in length, and are designed to be useful to both newcomers and veterans of the legislative process. Covered topics will include understanding the legislative process, delivering effective testimony, making sense of the calendar and deadlines, and an overview of the Legislature’s website. Renewed inspiration to be part of the solution will be the overriding theme.

You can find more information on the PAR website, or by calling 808/587-0478 (toll free from Hawaii Island = 974-4000, x 7-0478). It’s possible that additional workshops could be organized on request for interested community groups.

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6 thoughts on “NextEra politics, Kealoha poll, and PAR workshops on the Big Island”

  1. Ken Conklin

    Ian says: “The takeover would mark a major change in political orientation. In recent decades, HEI has leaned Democratic, while NextEra is well known of its major support of the Republican Party. … This corporate merger could reverberate through the state in many different ways. It some respects, this shift of power could be something like what happened in the decade or two after statehood, as power of the Big Five was largely dismantled by the takeover of international corporate interests.”

    I say: I hope Ian’s fascinating speculation proves true, because it would be just as good for Hawaii to break up the Democrat stranglehold of Hawaii today as it was to break up the Big Five stranglehold several decades ago.

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  2. Kate

    Ahhh, Florida, the bastion of internet “deals” that take your credit card info, send you the inferior stuff, but don’t alert you to the fine print that states you’ve incurred automatic credit card payments for a lifetime supply of….whatever!

    Also, Floridians think Jeb is da man!
    Warning flags! The question is: is it a done-deal like most of these things are by the time we are alerted.

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  3. Jim Loomis

    For whatever it may be worth, friends in Florida refer to Florida Power & Light as “Florida Plunder & Loot”.

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  5. Allen N.

    If HEI already has connections with influential Democrats, why would the company taking them over (NextEra) suddenly forsake those relationships? Just because NextEra supports Republicans on a national level or in states (like Florida) where the GOP is in control, doesn’t mean that they’ll be on a political/idealogical mission to convert every state to red. The new utility barons in town will just want to cozy up with whatever local party/politicians who will help them make as much $$$$ as possible.

    If Walter Dods had been a banking maven in South Carolina, would he have been a Democrat? If Mufi Hannemann had established roots in Utah, would he have tried to break into politics there by running as a Democrat?

    Please.

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  6. compare and decode

    Regarding NextEra, which is based in Florida.

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-florida-a-power-struggle-over-solar-plays-out-1424460679

    In the Sunshine State, a Power Struggle Over Solar Plays Out

    Liberal environmentalists and tea-party conservatives, among others, unite to press state to open window for more renewable energy

    By Arian Campo-Flores Feb. 20, 2015 2:31 p.m. ET

    A broad political coalition, from liberal environmentalists to tea-party conservatives, has banded together in Florida to press for something that ironically is in short supply in the Sunshine State: solar power.

    The group, which also includes business owners, libertarians and Christian conservatives, launched a campaign in January to place an initiative on the state’s 2016 ballot that would eliminate restrictions it says are suppressing the solar industry and protecting utilities from competition.

    Though Florida is the third-most-populous state in the country—after California and Texas—and has plenty of sunshine, it ranks 13th in installed solar capacity, with 229 megawatts, compared with 8,544 megawatts in top-ranked California, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Pennsylvania, ranked 12th, has 240 megawatts of capacity.

    “Florida is the best solar market in the eastern United States, and it’s clearly underperforming,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, which promotes renewable energy and is a member of the coalition, Floridians for Solar Choice.

    Florida is one of only five states that prohibit so-called third-party sales from non-utility companies to install solar panels on residents’ or businesses’ rooftops and sell them power. Under such arrangements, consumers can avoid the upfront costs of installing solar arrays and lock in potentially cheaper electricity rates, while providers can earn back their investment and a profit over the long haul.

    Currently, Florida consumers can buy electricity only from utilities. The coalition’s initiative, which requires more than 680,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot, would remove that restriction and authorize third-party sales.

    It is the latest standoff between the amalgam of renewable-energy advocates across the country and utilities at a time of rapid growth for the solar industry. In the first three quarters of 2014, 50% more solar power came online than in the same period in 2013, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

    Florida alliance members say they resorted to a ballot effort because elected officials in Florida have failed to develop a comprehensive clean-energy policy and utilities have used their monopoly position and lobbying muscle to stifle competition from the solar industry.

    Utilities have long argued that customers should go through them for solar energy because they should help pay for the cost of maintaining the grid, which they still rely on for at least part of the day.

    Sterling Ivey, a spokesman for Duke Energy Florida, which provides electricity in the central and northern part of the state, said the company was committed to working with lawmakers “to achieve energy policies, incorporating solar, that are fair and beneficial to all of our customers.”

    Cynthia Muir, a spokeswoman for the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates the state’s utilities, said the commission was “working with all stakeholders to develop a strategy to promote solar effectively at a reasonable cost.” She pointed to recent announcements by utilities such as Florida Power & Light Co., a unit of NextEra Energy Inc., to build more solar farms.

    The political dynamics unfolding in Florida have played out in other states. In Georgia, tea-party groups joined forces with the Sierra Club to help persuade the state’s utility regulators in 2013 to require Georgia Power to boost rooftop solar.

    One of the activists— Debbie Dooley, who co-founded the Atlanta Tea Party—launched a group called Conservatives for Energy Freedom last year that is part of the Florida coalition. The organization is pursuing similar alliances to battle utilities in states including Indiana and South Carolina.

    In Arizona, another group—Tell Utilities Solar won’t be Killed, or TUSK— focuses on promoting solar power to conservatives and was among a diverse array of groups that beat back a proposal in 2013 to charge the state’s solar customers steep fees. TUSK is now active in nine other states, including Colorado and Utah.

    While liberals tend to emphasize solar as a renewable-energy source that can reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, conservatives often cast it in terms of freedom of choice.

    “What’s happening now in Florida is really blocking the free market,” said Tory Perfetti, state director of Conservatives for Energy Freedom.

    Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes has drafted legislation that would reduce taxes on businesses seeking to install solar panels on rooftops and allow them to sell energy to adjacent establishments.

    Mr. Brandes said Florida is slowly coming around. “We have these regulated monopolies that have worked very hard over the years to keep solar out,” he said. “And now you’re seeing Floridians rise up and demand that they address solar.”

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