Civil Beat’s Nathan Eagle reports today on the variety of questions being posed to NextEra regarding its proposed takeover of Hawaiian Electric Industries (“What Would a Nuclear Disaster in Florida Mean for Hawaiian Electric?“).
Several of the questions posed by staff of the Public Utilities Commission question the effects a hypothetical meltdown of a nuclear power plant owned by NextEra could have on the power company in Hawaii.
“Would it hurt the companies’ credit rating? Would it limit their ability to provide financial support for Hawaii’s clean energy transformation? Would NextEra have to take money from Hawaiian Electric’s dividend payments to cover any claims that could result from such a catastrophe?”
That prompted a friend of mine, also a regular reader of this blog, to launch his own questions.
Dear NextEra,
We have some more important questions for you to answer. Very important.
What would you do if mars crashes into Hawaii?
What would you do if the stock market falls? (Heaven forfend.)
What would you do if Hawaii is hit by 10 hurricanes?
What would you do if Hawaii might get hit by 10 mega hurricanes but doesn’t?
What would you do if a Hawaii nonprofit claims armageddon, again? (If you complain enough, someday one of them will come true.)
What would do if rail bankrupts every single person on Oahu?
What would you do if every single bloody person over 60 in Hawaii cries wolf over coffee?
What would you do if
What would you do if
NextEra responds:
You’re getting desperate. Grow up. Is change really that hard for you folks?
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Are your friend’s comments a joke? They are naive, not funny.
The status of NextEra’s nuclear plants located on the shore of hurricane prone Florida is a legitimate issue.
After 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl and the Japanese disaster it is clear that nuclear plants are uniquely dangerous.
I’m relieved the PUC staff raised the issue.
August 12, 2015
(CNN) – Japan has restarted its first nuclear reactor since the Fukushima disaster in March, 2011.
Kyushu Electric Power Company told CNN Tuesday that it had reactivated No. 1 reactor at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, on the southern island of Kyushu.
The plant’s second reactor could be restarted in October, it added.
All of Japan’s 48 nuclear reactors were gradually taken offline when a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake sent a wall of water crashing into the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant four years ago, causing a series of meltdowns.
Since then, the island nation has imported greater amounts of expensive natural gas and coal to meet its energy needs.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for a return to nuclear energy, arguing it is essential to the country’s economic recovery to reduce the skyrocketing utility bills associated with energy imports.
Prior to the Fukushima disaster, about 30% of Japan’s energy was nuclear generated.
I think the point Ian’s friend is trying to make is a legitimate one. How do you respond to and/or prepare for anything and everything that has NEVER happened before and the odds of ever occurring are near zero. What they should be held accountable for are things that are at least remotely possible. You can’t ask them to respond to every one in a million scenarios.
Your friend forgot the most important what if of all…what if there’s a sharknado? What would NextEra do to protect ratepayers from killer tornadoes and flying sharks?
Ha Ha.
There are legal ways to financially insulate and indemnify Hawaii (HECO) customers from catastrophes NextEra might experience in Florida. No matter from hurricanes, tornadoes or nuclear disasters.
Let’s face it, Florida is a disaster prone state. Ignoring this fact of life is folly.
The almost united opposition to this ‘buy-out’ suggests to me that we all better take a closer look at this deal.
I am encouraged that people on the neighbor islands and here on Oahu are starting to look seriously at alternatives.
And when a disaster involving NextEra does arise and its Hawaii operations are dragged down along with the rest of the company, the very ones who now think that the PUC is nitpicking will scream at the top of their lungs about how the commissioners did not perform due diligence in approving the merger.
Ah, the “damned if you, damned if you don’t” critics.
Florida is “disaster” prone?? Hawaii is not?? what am I missing? I think Iniki beats any “disaster” that Florida has had in the last 25 years……
And when a disaster wipes out HECO, HELCO, MECO, Hawaii residents get stuck financing the reconstruction with billions of new taxes at high interest rates because we don’t have the capacity by ourselves to absorb a concentrated risk – assuming we even qualify for such a bond issue.
god now sez NextEra will be involved in disaster. thus it will. god has read it in the ti leaves. god also sez GMO will turn us into pizza.
“George” wrote:
“Florida is “disaster” prone?? Hawaii is not?? what am I missing? I think Iniki beats any “disaster” that Florida has had in the last 25 years……”
You are totally wrong, George. And it’s not even close.
Hurricane Iniki caused an estimated $1.8 billion worth of damage in Hawaii in 1992..
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Iniki
Hurrican Andrew that same year caused an estimated $25.3 billion worth of damage.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Andrew_in_Florida
If this kind of misinformation is what is getting people to support NextEra, then it only strengthens my confidence in the PUC conducting a most thorough and exhaustive probe as to whether our state’s best interests lies with NextEra or with a co-op.
Definition of “straw man”
noun
> a person compared to a straw image; a sham.
> a sham argument set up to be defeated.
Example: “If this kind of misinformation is what is getting people to support NextEra, then it only strengthens my confidence in the PUC conducting a most thorough and exhaustive probe as to whether our state’s best interests lies with NextEra or with a co-op.”
Description of Straw Man
The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores a person’s actual position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position. This sort of “reasoning” has the following pattern:
> Person A has position X.
> Person B presents position Y (which is a distorted version of X).
> Person B attacks position Y.
> Therefore X is false/incorrect/flawed.
This sort of “reasoning” is fallacious because attacking a distorted version of a position simply does not constitute an attack on the position itself. One might as well expect an attack on a poor drawing of a person to hurt the person.
@”t”:
So what do you call George’s statement below;
“Florida is “disaster” prone?? Hawaii is not?? what am I missing? I think Iniki beats any “disaster” that Florida has had in the last 25 years……”
to Manoa Kahuna’s comment?
Manoa Kahuna did say, “Let’s face it, Florida is a disaster prone state.” But nowhere did M.K. ever say that Hawaii is not disaster prone.
What about that strawman?
Not that anyone should expect any impartial officiating from you when it comes to how matters are debated here.